The Loss You Gained
by MazzyBooks
Summary: School is about building character; to stay on top you kick everyone else down. This had worked fine for him until he pushed his Teacher, his friends and his Uncle too far. Now suffering from physical and mental abuse, the result of bad rumours and being the subject of hate by the people who should of helped him, Sonic doesn't know how to fix the pieces of his broken life.
1. Reality Check

**Okay so his is my first High School fic, this might be interesting. It is a little dark so there's a warning there. Truthfully I don't have a direct plan for this story, heck this chapter turned out darker then I had planned but there we go. All characters are their own age and look the same way clothes wise, so Sonic isn't in pants okay? I don't like that.**

**Anyway hope you enjoy and please review.**

* * *

Life was different now.

Whenever he walked down the hallway in High School the blue hedgehog didn't feel the need to shrink down or curl into himself to be hidden, not anymore. Now he could walk with his head high, a little swag in his step and a cocky grin on his face as he passed a group of cute girls, sending them a wink to which they swooned for. His bag hung loose from his back while his friends, yes friends, pulled out a football and started to kick it about.

He laughed with confidence as they kicked the ball to him, letting him pick it up with his feet before doing numerous tricks and moves, making sure the girls were watching him before sending it back.

They all watched as the red echidna tripped over it before jogging to the blue hedgehog and falling onto him, ruffling his sharp quills with his big fists playfully, the others soon joined in and pushed him off. They weren't alone in their group. A green hawk, a purple chameleon and silver hedgehog had taken over the game of football while following the two boys outside into the large field.

It wasn't so long after that more guys joined them and they all went into their natural positions. The red echidna ran to the goal post, just in time to save the other teams score before picking up the ball and shouting for the star player's attention. The blue hedgehog looked his way and watched as the strong sixteen year old threw the ball out to him. Then before anyone had a chance to reach it, he had moved. No one could see either him or the ball as a gush of wind nearly threw everyone down to the ground, faster than a tornado could have taken them. A streak of blue ran through the opposing team, running circles around them before stopping for a mere second in front of the goal. Then with a strong force he kicked the ball into the net.

Knuckles was the first to cheer, running to his friend with his arms in the air and jumping onto his back. The others shortly followed until he was practically buried beneath his friends, each one cheering about their victory.

* * *

"Mr. Hedgehog! You are late once again" the accusing voice pounded through the whole classroom. Each student stopped their work and stared at the less then caring boy who simply wiped the dust from his legs. Their teacher stood tall with her arms crossed and a scowl upon her face. Even though she wasn't very old, she dressed as if she was. The black cat liked to wear long skirts and blouses with a brooch. Her hair was always in a bun while her glasses had a long chain that went around her neck. She may have dressed like she was old, but her attitude was that of someone older.

Sonic barely even moved, deciding he would just smirk as her eye twitched at the sight of him. It was well known he was pretty much hated by ever teacher in this place.

"Care to explain why you missed the first ten minutes of class? And why there is mud covering your legs?" she questioned, her eyes glancing at his mud caked shoes. If it wasn't Sonic she hated most then it was mud or anything dirty or untidy. Her lips practically quivered at the thought of letting him in her clean class room. Once again it hardly fazed him as he casually shrugged, "I was transported into a book and forced to save a magic genie" he answered casually, earning a few laughs from his fellow students. Again his teacher wasn't happy, "You ignorant boy" she hissed. Raising a brow, Sonic smirked further "Hey I'm pretty sure teachers shouldn't be insulting students..."

"Go and sit down before I really get angry with you. I want you in detention after school!" She ordered while slapping her book on her desk angrily. Sonic merely rolled his eyes before walking to his chair. Only as he turned he realised his normal seat where he sat with his friends was taken. In fact none of his mates had actually saved him a seat at all. He sent them a questioning look but all they did was mouth an apology. He couldn't blame them though; normally if he was late it meant he wasn't coming at all. It was a surprise to even see him now. Knowing his friends were no help, he looked around to see where he could sit, and to his horror there was only one seat left.

With a loud and irritated moan that everyone heard, the hedgehog had to ignore the sympathetic laughs and comments that followed his way as he sat down next to the two tailed freak who sat in the corner of the class next to the row of windows.

The young fox watched as the Football star pulled the chair as far away from him as he could, threw his bag under the desk and sat down irritated. He wanted to make it as clear as possible he wasn't happy with his seating buddy and so refused to even glance at the fox, afraid he'd have to talk to him. Instead he did what he normally did, tip his chair back and place his muddy red shoes onto the desk.

The younger fox turned his nose up at the sight and tried to move his paper away from the boy's feet so not to ruin his work. Truthfully the boy didn't want to be sat next to the hedgehog as much as the other did. Sonic was a bully, no matter how much he denied it. The guy thought he was amazing because he could run faster than the speed of sound, and yet he called _him_ a freak for having two tails!

Sonic hadn't liked Tails since he first came into his classroom, but then no one did really. Everyone in that classroom was either fifteen or sixteen; the fox was only eight years old. The School had realised his potential and so again and again Tails had skipped years until he found one that wasn't below his level. Unfortunately he made the mistake of showing one of Sonic's friends up on his first day when correcting the echidna's answer and questioning how he could make such a simple mistake. Needless to say, he didn't have many friends now.

Secretly however, he had actually wanted to be friends with Sonic. He had always though the guy was cool even if he was arrogant, but most of all he had wanted to know more about his speed. Tails loved science, he was brilliant at it, along with inventing. When he learned of how fast Sonic was he had tried several times to ask the hedgehog about it, to see if he would let him run tests to learn even more. Each time though his efforts were wasted. Either one of Sonic's friends would push him away or Sonic himself would put him down.

It didn't matter now though, he didn't care anymore, or at least he tried to tell himself that.

Sonic placed his hands behind his head as he tried to relax. He kept watching his friends, they all had their Science books out but none of them were doing much work, they were all just talking, sometimes just glancing at him. They were talking about him, he knew it, but damn he couldn't hear what they were saying. Knowing he had to distract himself, he turned his head slightly and watched as the young fox next to him read his book excitedly, writing down any information he found interesting or looking at their teacher to take in what she was saying. As it turned out he was no paying attention as the teacher called his name "Sonic put your feet down!" she shouted, stopping her work and waiting. All eyes were on him as usual while he stared at the teacher challengingly. It seemed like whenever he was annoyed with someone he would smile at them, it kept him in control no matter what the outcome "Say please".

* * *

Sonic grumbled angrily to himself as he once again had to tediously write the same sentence again. "I will not answer back my Teacher"

He was told to write this 100 times on the black board and by now his wrist was hurting so much. The final School bell had rung half an hour ago and everyone had left the School but him. He was going to go out to the cinema with his friends, only now he missed it. He had really hoped to see Sally as well, he had wanted to make sure they were still okay, and that they're argument they had last week hadn't broken them up again. Only instead he was stood with pains in his arms wanting nothing more than to go home.

What had seemed like hours, he finally got all the lines finished. His Science teacher walked through the door, almost like she had been waiting until he put the chalk down. Her timing was always impeccable he could give her that. Turning around he threw himself to the wall and blew a sharp breath in relief, glad it was over. The teacher sat down at one of the desks in the front row and stared at him calmly. She crossed her legs over and held her hands together, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" she asked expectantly. Sonic looked to the door, seeing it half open was like bait to him, but he'd only pay for it later. "I'm sorry I was trying to teach you manners" he boredly stated, once again not taking her seriously. The teacher knew this, and once again she was feeling sick to her stomach of him. For years everytime she had a class with him she would yell, argue and fight back, but he never ever showed her respect, never listened or did as he was told. Normally she would accept this and let him go, but this time was different. This time she had finally snapped. With no warning she lunged at the fifteen year old and grabbed him by his shoulders violently digging her claws into his skin.

"What are you doing?" Sonic cried, trying to fight from her grip, but she was surprisingly strong. "I am sick and tired of you, you little rat!" she spat at him. "Stop it you're hurting me!" he yelped, realising how angry she truly was. The door was open and no one was hearing her, he tried to get loose once again but she held him against the wall. He was trapped, and now memories of similar situations unfolded in his mind, for the first time in a while he truly felt scared.

"I swear if you ever show me up like that again you will pay for it. You are nothing more than a pathetic pest! I have spent too long dealing with your insults, your pranks and annoying attitude. If you dare try it again then detention is the last thing you'll be worried about" each time she hissed at him spitefully, she shook him and caused him to painfully hit his head against the wall. He could hardly control his breathing, he could never have seen this coming and he feared what she was going to do next. "So let me ask you again, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry okay? I won't do it again. Please just let me go" he panicked, wanting to be far away from her and this place. With a smile he wasn't sure whether good or bad; the teacher unlatched her claws from off his shoulders and straightened herself up as if nothing happened. She dusted her skirt and mimicked his smirk from before. "Good boy Sonic, I'll be holding you to your word. As for homework you'll be doing a Science project. You have four weeks to complete it and it will be in teams. I've assigned you with Mr. Prower, the young boy you sat with today, you seemed to be getting on pretty well" she smiled.

Sonic looked at her, seeing the sadistic look in her eyes when she told him he'd be working with the School freak. She was taking so much pleasure out of it, but he was too scared to say no to her now. Had she not just attack him he would have bugged her until he got to pick his own partner. Now though he didn't care anymore. He wanted out.

"Tails has the homework and guidelines for you to follow. Don't disappoint me" she finished as if it was a challenge. Once again she smiled, but she turned away from the boy and left the room, leaving the door open.

He couldn't get his head around it, she had attacked him, she actually attacked him! What should he do? Should he tell the police, tell the principal? No, Pr. Robotnik hated him as much as she did, the Eggman wouldn't care… He had to leave, he had to get out of here.

With a shaky breath Sonic quickly stood up and grabbed his bag, using the speed he was known for he ran. In no more than seconds he was out of the School and at the gates. It wouldn't have been long until he was home but in his moment of haste he failed to notice the girl standing in his way before slamming into her which sent them both rolling over each other in the dirt.

Reaching his hand to his head, Sonic groaned as his vision blurred in and out from the trip. He could make out a shape of someone's face, which was uncomfortably too close to his. After blinking a few times, his heart sunk when he recognised the pink quills and the strange smile that formed between them. "Amy!" he gasped. "Sonic!" she squealed back. He suddenly realised that she was lying completely on top of him and her arms almost wrapped round his body in a hug, hopefully a result from the fall.

Even though she was happy to see him, he by far was the opposite. "What are you doing here? School broke half an hour ago?" he questioned angrily, mostly because he knew the answer. "Well I knew you were going out today but then you got detention. I waited back so we could walk home together, seeing as how you might be lonely and all…" she trailed off. Normally on a good day Sonic didn't have the mentality to deal with his stalking neighbour, so today was even worst. He just wanted to go home. Not caring if he was being gentle he pushed the girl off him, quickly sitting up and grabbing his bag. "Just go away Amy, I sick of telling you this…" he had wanted to carry on, to tell her he wasn't interested, but he stopped when he realised the words he had said, the exact words he used. Just like his teacher.

From nowhere he felt tears start to well in his eyes. They nearly spilled when Amy stood up and touched his shoulder, "It's okay if you don't wanna hang out. Though I did kinda miss the bus to see you, and where it only takes you five seconds to go home it takes me twenty minutes to walk" she laughed lightly, even though she was really hoping. "Yeah well start walking then" and with that Sonic left, a streak of blue leaving the upset girl behind.

He didn't care how upset she got he didn't have time. He just wanted to go home. Besides she didn't have any reason to be hurt. It's not like he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. He didn't know what to do. Just as Amy had said he was back at his home in a matter of seconds. It was only a small house in a quiet neighbourhood, it was nothing to get excited about. The car was in the drive way, meaning he wasn't going to be alone for long.

Placing his hand on the handle, he breathed deeply and wiped away the remaining tears from his mussel. Feeling a bit better he walked into his home. His bag dropped to the ground before he even closed the door, and he quickly took off his shoes kicking them away. He didn't go into the living room, or even look in any of the rooms. All he did was run up the stairs, not with his usual speed though, not without wearing his shoes. He ran past all the rooms until he reached the one all the way at the back. Behind the closed door he could hear what sounded like a drill grinding through metal. It didn't bother him though as he threw the door open.

Inside many machines and tables were placed carefully, taking advantage of the large space of the room. Everything inside was metal, as robotic pieces laid about either finished or unfinished. Sonic's eyes lay upon the man that had built it all. He held a large plate of metal in his hands as he pushed it through the saw cutting it to size. The room was too noisy for him to take notice of the door being opened, if it wasn't the saw making a noise it was the loud music plastic from the inbuilt speakers on the wall.

He didn't bother calling out, knowing it wouldn't matter. Instead he waited for the elderly blue hedgehog to finish, placing the metal on the table and switching off the saw. When he did so, the man pulled the goggles from his face and wiped the sweat from his brow. He hardly turned around before he felt a large weight tackle him, knocking him down into his chair and taking the air out of his lungs.

Feeling arms smaller than his grip around his neck, he felt his beloved nephew burry his face deep into his chest, refusing to show himself. The older man rested his hands upon his back but instantly felt the shivering as low sobs emitted from the boys lips. Tears were warm again his skin as the man quickly pulled his nephew in, sitting him upon his lap and holding him tightly. His eyes widened as he noticed the bruises and scratches that lined on the boys shoulders. He wanted to ask but he knew his nephew too well. He knew there wasn't going to be a real answer until he wanted to give one. So instead he rubbed his arm gently and planted a kiss of the top of his head, his moustache brushing Sonic's ear.

Maybe the most popular boy in School wasn't as happy as everyone thought.


	2. Punishment

**Well damn this is a long chapter. Also the fastest I have ever updated a story. Some may noticed I changed the summery slighty, that was because in the last chapter I was unsure where I wanted the story to go, but now I thought about it I know where it's heading. Let's just hope I actually finish this one :)**

**Just wanna thank the people who reviewed and followed, also a reply to Guest (my first review woop) thank you and yes I drew the picture :)**

**Anyway please keep the reviews coming and hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Nothing but questions ran through the older hedgehogs mind. He was currently next to the stove, the chilly he was making was only half done as he added some of his home grown herbs. He tried to concentrate on the food but his eyes kept looking to the small island just behind him. Sonic was sat with his back to him, his mind completely cleared and his eyes dry. In his hand he held a ball and laughed each time he squeaked it, causing the large dog at his feet to spin around in excitement before trying to jump for the ball. Sonic held it far away though, not giving his dog a chance.

"Sonic don't play with Muttskie in the kitchen, you know I don't like him around when food is being made" the boy's Uncle complained. Sonic finally looked at him, only to appear sad "Okay Chuck" he muttered before throwing the ball out of the kitchen, watching the dog follow it before closing the door once he left.

A sigh was emitted from Chuck as he watched Sonic go back to his chair, dropping his head into his arms as if he was tired. It wasn't so much the fur moulting wildly from the beast that was his main concern; he just really wanted Sonic's complete attention. His nephew never confided in him, he never told him there was a problem until it was too late. Normally he could accept this, trusting the boy would use his head when it was serious, but when he comes home crying with scars and bruises on his shoulders Chuck could only fear the worst. Was he being bullied again? What was going on?

"Sonic what happened to your shoulders?" he asked firmly. The teenager lifted his head and locked eyes with his Uncle before they fell to the bruising on his peach arms. Subconsciously he rubbed them, "After detention I ran into Amy and fell over" he lied. Chuck raised his brow, he knew he was lying about it, he knew by the fact only his shoulders were hurt. So he had to let it go, "Why did you have detention?" he didn't sound happy and Sonic knew it.

With a shrug the boy looked away, "I showed up the Science teacher" he admitted. In all fairness if he had known she'd attack him he would have kept quiet. He didn't though, and he decided to keep the event of the day to himself. The last thing he wanted was his Uncle going to School to complain, it was too embarrassing. Besides it was probably a one of.

"Sonic why would you do that?" Chuck questioned, even if he was angry he was always so gentle when it came to Sonic, it often made the boy feel guilty. Looking in shame, he felt like he didn't have a real answer, "sorry" he mumbled, not knowing what else to say. He didn't feel like recalling the day's events. Instead he stayed silent as his Uncle rubbed his forehead with his fingers as if a headache was coming on. He said nothing but turned back to making their supper.

As the silence was uneasy, it broke when Sonic's phone vibrated. Curiously he opened it to see it was from Knuckles.

_Hey Sonic, how'd deten go?_

He swallowed a little when reading the message, it was like no matter what it was all people wanted to talk about. He'd been in detention before so what was the big deal this time?

His Uncle must have seen him looking uneasy at the message, because now he was staring at the phone as if it was responsible for Sonic's bad day.

_It sucked naturally. How was the movie?_

_You didn't miss much tbh. We're going bowling, wanna meet up? Sal been missin you ;)_

He wanted to put yes, wanted to ask his Uncle to bag the chilly dogs up to take with him and normally he would, but he just didn't feel right. He didn't know why but the thought of going out made him feel a little sick, he was starting to lose his appetite from just thinking about it. All he wanted to do was stay home and be with his Uncle, not that he'd say that. Uncle Chuck was basically the only person that made him feel safe. He needed that now.

_Soz, grounded by Unc :(_

"Give me your phone" the sharp voice forced him to look up, his Uncle was not happy as he held his hand out. A stern look in his eyes was the warning Sonic needed. Without question he handed his phone to his Uncle, who started to look through his conversation with Knuckles. He knew his Uncle didn't like many of his friends, he always worried they were using him. Sonic realised he must have noticed the uneasy look on his face, the drawback of living with a genius.

When he was satisfied, Chuck placed the phone back down, "I'm not grounding you Sonic, you can go out if you like." The fifteen year old looked down at his phone before biting on his lip, "I'm not really feeling good Unc, I just wanna stay home" he sighed. Chuck walked up to him and placed a hand on his forehead, truthfully he did look pale but his eyes were red and puffy from his crying before, which he still refused to talk about. Still he knew his nephew well enough by now, so with a small smile he took him into the living room before making him lie on the sofa. He pulled out a blanket and draped it over him before switching on the TV. It was just what Sonic needed.

* * *

The next day came and Sonic knew he had to face it. He had tried pulling the sick card again to get the day off but had no luck, his Uncle wasn't playing soft when it came to his education as it was something he felt too strongly about. So Sonic had to just be normal about things. Yesterday Chuck had put some cream, which stung like crazy, on his shoulders to stop infections but it didn't do much in covering them up, and he didn't want people asking questions. So Sonic decided to wear his old purple hoodie, it felt strange at first as he wasn't a fan of clothes but it would do.

He walked along the School halls as normal; his friends weren't with him this time though. He had asked them to make themselves scares for a few minutes so he could have some privacy. Despite what had happened he had other people to worry about. It was just unfortunate he had to walk past her classroom to reach the lockers. When he got there though, he smiled seeing the girl he wanted. A brown chipmunk leaned against the metal frame while talking to her friends, Mina Mongoose and Bunnie Rabbit. None of them had noticed him but he could hear their conversation.

"I just don't see that outfit working Mina, Purple and green?"

"It will be so cute, come on I'm only asking for an opinion before I go out with Ash"

"Wear those cute heels you got, you'll look fabulous!"

The three girls stopped and turned around to see the blue blur grin at them before laughing at the French accent he decided to put on. Sally didn't so much laugh but blushed; he was always the show off. "Ladies, mind if I steal the Princess from you?" he inquired smoothly, but didn't give them time to answer as he took Sally's hand and led her away to talk in private.

Once they were alone his arrogant grin was replaced with a small smile, "Hey" he said nervously, trying not to flush. Sally felt the tension, it was completely mutual, but she tried to laugh it off, "Hi. Where were you last night? I was hoping you'd join us" she hummed, slipping her hands into his and swaying them side to side. Sonic could feel his shoulders relax knowing things were still good between the two. It would have been his only reason for going out, but even then he couldn't handle it. "I told Knucklehead I wasn't feeling too good. Think my Uncle made some bad chilly" he scoffed, again lying, something he was good at. The chipmunk looked at him worriedly before pulling him into her arms, "Are you feeling okay now?" she asked. He couldn't but feel smug, the prettiest girl in School and she was his. He put his arm around her shoulders and walked with her, "I have you, that's all it takes to make me happy" he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek. Many students were watching the two, even Sonic's friends who had caught up with them.

One girl particularly had seen the whole thing and she couldn't help seething through her teeth. Her books were held tightly to her chest but her hands nearly dropped them as they balled into fists. Without even thinking of what she was doing, the pink hedgehog ran to the popular crowed, shouting the blue hedgehog's name. Almost everyone stared at her and the clumsy run she did trying to catch up to the group. Sonic turned around, his arm still around Sally's shoulders, and practically growled when he saw the girl run towards him. His friends didn't help as they laughed, loving the antics that happened whenever his stalker showed up. Truthfully this was a normal occurrence, but this time Sonic really felt annoyed when seeing her, and he wasn't holding back now.

As she stopped before him she opened her mouth to talk but didn't get the chance. Sonic had held Sally tighter to him and spun them both to face the girl head on. "Look Amy, how many times is it going to take you to get the hint?" he asked patronisingly. The pink hedgehog froze, this wasn't normal. Normally he'd make an excuse to leave not question her. "What do you mean?" she asked, playing the ignorance card. A forced laugh was her response though, "Oh shut up and quit being so stupid. I've told you a hundred times now I'm not interested in a lonely, pathetic looser like you, okay?" he smiled darkly. His friends were looking at each other, each one stunned by his harsh words yet finding amusement in them. Amy could feel her checks burn and water fill her eyes, everyone was staring at her, even the kids who were just walking past and over heard them. She was feeling humiliated but it wasn't going to stop there. "S-Sonic please" she tried to hush, only for him to raise his hand to her face, "Uh no! I don't think so. Take a hint, sell the spy equipment, take the cameras down from my room and get a real makeover, maybe then a guy will find you attractive."

The roars of laughter filled the room, and now the tears had fallen. She stared at the man she loved more than anything with a broken heart. Sonic still smiled, he got the reaction he wanted, "Now if you don't mind I've got a lesson to go to. You have books to pick up" he finished, earning a look of confusion from everyone. Before anyone asked, his hand lashed out and slapped the books out of Amy's grip and watched as they flew everywhere. A startled cry came from the girl as she fell to her knees is despair. All his friends laughed at her, everyone laughed her. She was labelled with names such as Freak, Loser, Weirdo… Everything Sonic once was.

He didn't want to be there anymore. Even with Silver slapping his back, Knuckles telling him he was awesome, even with Bunnie and Mina grabbing his arm to laugh with him, he couldn't do it. Trying to act normal and still having Sally under his arm, he walked away with everyone following. It seemed like his girlfriend was the only one who wasn't laughing as she looked back sadly and watched the girl be tormented by people kicking her books away.

From the side of the locker a white bat had seen the whole thing, and now she watched the girl stand up and brush the remaining tears away from her eyes. The bat popped her glossy lips together, her eyes looking back at the crowd of popular jerks, guilty she used to be one of them. Now though it was time to get her own back, and take a poor girl under beautiful purple wing. She pushed herself away from the wall and followed the heart broken hedgehog.

* * *

The School morning had passed and each lesson was as boring as the next. They only had one lesson to go before they could all go to lunch. It didn't bother the cool crowd at all, which was why Sonic mostly stayed quiet for once, as their next lesson was Science.

The blue teen didn't know how to feel when he saw that door again, the sixth time that day. It was one of the classrooms that were in the heart of the School. Everyone had to pass it at one point of the day, making each hour feel slow and daunting to him. He had to face her though; he had to be in control again. So when his friends pushed open the door, he made sure he was the first to walk in.

The teacher stood there, her eyes glancing to them before settling on him. Once again she dressed in old clothes, her hair always in that bun only this time she had pencils in it. She had a few papers in her hands but dropped them on the desk loudly. Her eyes never left his.

Deciding to be the one to break the stare, Sonic walked to his usual seat next to his friends. He almost sat down until a noisy cough broke the chatter in the room and they all looked to the teacher, "I assigned everyone a team, and I expect them to sit accordingly" she hissed, her eyes again burning through the hedgehog. There was nothing different, this was practically every lesson, but now instead of rolling his eyes and doing what he wanted, Sonic picked up his bag and walked up to the lonely fox on the other side of the room.

Knuckles raised his brow, "Whoa what are you doing? Sit here!" he said pulling the chair out next to him, not understanding why his friend was actually doing as he was told. Sonic however looked at the teacher, he saw the same stare she showed him yesterday. "Move with me" he whispered to his mates, nudging his head towards the empty desk next to the one he would be sitting at. Despite feeling confused, Knuckles and the others did so and moved all their stuff over to the other desks. As Sonic sat down he groaned when he looked at the fox, knowing he was going to have to work with him. Tails tried to make the feeling look mutual, but he knew he just felt sad.

With everything settled the teacher spoke and focused on the work that was written on the board, going over the Science project they'd be working on. Sonic drowned it all out. He watched as the twin tailed fox once again wrote down everything he heard and his friends talked among themselves. He got the sense of De Ja Vu, as he again felt distant.

A small tap at his shoulder broke him from his small trance as he looked over to see Silver smirking, Knuckles was doing the same. "What's so funny?" he whispered. "Check it out" they handed Sonic a piece of paper that was being passed around the whole classroom. It was a crudely drawn picture of none other than the Science teacher wearing nothing but bloomers and a bra, they had also given her a zimmer frame. Even though the picture wasn't particularly clever, Sonic had stupidly snorted, loud enough for the teacher to stop her work and stare at him.

"What is so funny?" she asked blandly. All the students froze when they realised he was holding the picture, knowing he would get the blame. If anyone could get out of it it was him though.

Sonic tried to crumble the picture in his hands but the teacher was faster. She had run to his desk and snatched the picture straight from him. Only when she unfolded it her checked flushed in horror and she cried out from embarrassment. The students all laughed at her reaction, thinking it was hilarious, Sonic tried to laugh along as well but found it hard. The teacher's hands shook in fury as she lowered the paper down, ripping it in her hands. She was completely humiliated and she stared at the blue speed demon accusingly. "You…" she seethed. With a shaky hand she pointed at the hedgehog with complete rage, "I'd of thought you'd of learned your lesson by now" she hissed, her words having more meaning then the others knew, that much Sonic knew. However, Sonic also knew that there really wasn't much she could do to him. What happened yesterday was a mistake; she knew she'd lose her job had he talked. Therefore, he had nothing to worry about; he was in complete control again. So he smiled, "Look lady. I'm sat next to the teacher's pet what more do you want. At the end of the day all you can do is give me some stupid lines to write down, no big deal. It's not like you can force me to do anything, not without me telling anyway which would result in you being without a job. I think we both know you don't want that now don't we?" he grinned darkly, his words having as much hidden meaning as hers. Now he had an advantage, he could do as he liked. So pushing his luck even more he tipped his chair back, placed his arms behind his head and one after the other placed his feet up onto his desk.

**XxX**

The bell rang and everyone could go to lunch. All except for Sonic. The Science teacher had stood by his desk making sure he didn't slip out as everyone left. The teen's friends said they'd wait for him, but the teacher assured them it would be a long wait. When Sonic had shown her up once again she had stayed quiet for the rest of the hour. Everyone had thought Sonic did them a favour that he put her in her place, but they were far from wrong. She had been holding her anger in, waiting for the bell to ring to really get her chance.

When it was only the two of them left in the classroom, Sonic stood up with his backpack already on his shoulder ready to go. "I'm gonna join my friends" he stated, his smile no longer there. The teacher looked at him blankly, just the way she did yesterday before she gracefully walked to the slightly opened door. From the other side the loud noises of students talking amongst themselves filled up the classroom, but not after she shut the door to them. "Are you now?" she asked, humouring herself. A slight chill ran down Sonic's body as he watched her take a key from out of her pocket. "Yes I am. In case you hadn't noticed I had to wear this stupid hoodie today. I have scars all over my shoulders so unless you want me to tell, oh I don't know, Pr. Robotnik then… I'd…" his voiced cracked then became silent. He had watched as the teacher pushed the key into the key hole and locked the door. Her hand reached up to the top of her shirt and she put the key down her top, her eyes never looked at him.

He continued to stare, slowly shivering by her eerie silence. Her hand when to the small blind that rolled up above the small square window in the door. She pulled it down; blocking any view students would have of her classroom.

With her head high she walked with a straight back and her hands clasped together and went to the row of large windows that were near the desks he was forced to sit at. With each window she approached, her hand reached up and pulled the blinds down, one by for one. Sonic was backing away slowly as small beads of sweat fell from his brow and he held the strap of his bag tightly. "I'm serious. You'll lose your job once Eggman finds out…" he tried to threaten, but it didn't work. Once every blind was shut the teacher picked up a remote. With a single push of a button, the sound of loud, spin chilling opera music filled the entire room. The music she always listened to every lunch time, but this time it was loud enough to block out any other noise.

Now that everything was sorted, she finally looked at him. Just as yesterday, her normally strict but kind eyes snapped into something evil, just as yesterday, her pushed lips grimed in anger. Just as yesterday, she lunged at him.

She didn't just grab his shoulders though, this time she grabbed his arms and threw him into the desks. Following his startled cry, the sound of metal poles shrieked across the floor sharply as two desks were knocked over. Sonic's bag had fallen far away from him, but little did he care as his hands went straight to his head as he lay frightened on the ground.

Shock! All he could feel was shock. His eyes were wide and his body shook. He needed to escape. Slowly he turned himself onto his hands and knees, trying to push past the soreness in his back. He didn't have time to even push himself up as he saw the teacher stand by his head. Before he backed away her hands reached and grabbed the bottom of his hoodie and she screamed sharp cry of anger which couldn't be heard through the music. It was matched by Sonic's fearful scream when she roughly pulled at the hoodie, forcing it over his head and pulling it off his arms as he fought to keep it on.

As her hands gripped the garment ready to tare it, Sonic sat on the floor feeling completely exposed. His watery eyes locked with ones filled with fire while his hands crossed to his arms, trying to hide himself and the bruises on his shoulders. Throwing his top away, the woman mentally broke apart. Walking around him she grabbed him by the back of his quills, forcing him to stand up. With the agonising pain that filled his head, Sonic screamed as loud as he could, louder than the music was playing. His hands going to her hold to try and make her let go. In panic of how loud he screamed, the angered woman slapped her hand to his mouth, silencing him. "Shut up! Just shut up!" she hissed. He continued to call for help, only for his calls to be muffled and inaudible. He swung his arms at her, but she held him firmly around his waist with her free arm. Looking around she found an old rag one of the cleaning ladies had left on the floor. Dragging the frightened boy with her, she pulled him towards the back of the classroom where all the equipment was kept. Keeping her hand to his mouth she ignored the hot tears that spilled down her wrist and held his head so tightly close to her body that even when she let go of his waist he couldn't move. When she picked up the old rag, she wasted no time. Sonic was only allowed a second to scream when she let him go completely, but wasn't fast enough to get away in time before she threw the cloth around his muzzle. Screaming had allowed her to force the dusty rag into his mouth, silencing him further as it was tide at the back of his head.

He tried to call for help, tried to undo the rag and spit it out, but she gripped his shoulders and pushed him against the wall, his face scraping against the concrete. He pressed his palms against the wall trying to force her off, but her grip was still strong on the side of his head, pressing him further into the wall. His back was completely exposed to her.

Everything senses he had started to attack him. The noise of the opera music blasted so loud he couldn't hear the words his teacher spoke, he couldn't hear her voice break in hatred as she explained her actions, explained why she hated him so much, why he deserved everything he got. He didn't know what she was saying, he could see anything either, tears soaked into the rag and he held his eyes tight, his face grimaced in the agony he felt. Every time the hard metallic ruler cracked against his back, every time his teacher would scream in hatred at him, each hit getting stronger and harder than the last his body would jolt from the agonising shock. It was like a whip lashing him again and again and there was nothing he could do. He bit into the rag despairingly. No matter how much he tried his screams were completely muffled out. No one could hear him… no one could save him from this hell.

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**Poor Sonic :(**

**Yes I know it's a little dark but that's how the story is, the bad side of high school. Hope you guys liked and please leave a review for more.**


	3. Trapped

**My word this story is getting longer and longer. I don't think I've ever updated as quickly as this as well.**

**Well here we go, the plot thickens.**

**Sorry for any grammar mistakes, I'm not the best write in the world.**

**Anyways hope you guys enjoy the drama of it all lol.**

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School was never usually this bad for her. Sure she got picked on for being a little… passionate; maybe she would go on a little more than people liked her to, maybe she didn't get on with other people for those reasons, but normally it never bothered her. She would always love going to School for the same reason, the boy who lived next door. It would have been the perfect love story; the most popular boy in School, loved by every girl, admired by every guy and he fell for his unpopular next door neighbour. It would be like something straight from a movie, his friends would have picked on her only for the boy to tell them to back off before taking her hand and showing her the beauty of being a teenager. It was all she had wanted, so badly. Every time she spoke to him in front of his friends, she had actually prayed for them to say something, anything to get a reaction out of him. She never would have thought he'd be the one to push her down. Whenever she saw him through the window from her kitchen, she would see him playing with his dog or talking to his elderly Uncle, sometimes helping him around the house. More often though she would see the side of him no one else did, the sensitive side where he'd walk up to his Uncle and wrap his arms around him before leaning upon his shoulder. That was the side of Sonic she fell in love with, seeing him every morning from her window, watching him write in his diary lost in thought only praying there was a page in there for her. Or remembering the days when he first moved in with his Uncle and he used to see her by her window watching him with curiosity, instead of keeping the blind shut he used to wave shyly in amusement. He was the sweetest person she had ever known.

Apparently she was wrong. The boy she had fallen in love with didn't exist anymore, not to her anyway. All her fantasies and dreams had been destroyed when he pushed those books out of her arms. She had to go to her locker throughout the morning only to see the pictures of him she had placed inside, all the little notes she wrote to him but never dared give. She may only be twelve years old but she had fallen in love with the High School hottie, but he would never feel the same.

She didn't normally sit by herself at lunch time. She may not be popular but there were other kids like her as well who normally stick together, such as Tails and a few of his friends. She had seen the two tailed fox and casually he had told her about Sonic being in detention for the remainder of lunch. When hearing his name again she had sat alone, not wanting to talk about him anymore. She felt as if the past two years of her life were just wasted, she didn't want to cry again.

The fork was in her hands but she found playing with her food was more appetising then actually eating it. Amy could hear the whispered of her name when people passed her, turns out what happens in School goes all around School. With a heavy sigh she tried to take her mind off it, telling herself to get over it, but it just hurt more.

All her prayers were soon answered though. She wanted a distraction, so when the well-known sexiest girl in the whole School stood before her with a hand on her hip and her glossy lips pouted cunningly, Amy had no other reason than to cry with shock, all her thoughts now onto the white bat and not the blue hedgehog.

Rouge the bat laughed with slight amusement as the pink girl placed a hand on her beating heart. "You scared me!" she complained before realising she had knocked her bottle of water over and went to correct it. "Well that wasn't nice, I'm not that bad looking" the older girl joked, sending a small wink to which Amy didn't understand. The bat girl was older then Sonic by two years, and it was no secret that the two had dated not so long ago, until the problems came up such as the age difference. Despite it not being a large gap the teachers interfered with Sonic being younger then the legal age and her being above. It was messy, her parents and Sonic's Uncle had to get involved. That was nearly seven months ago… and there she went again thinking about Sonic while the coolest girl clearly wanted to talk to her.

Shaking her head side to side, Amy cleared her mind and stared at the beautiful bat, "Can I help you with something?" she asked trying to be formal, though she inwardly cringed feeling like a fool. Rouge chuckled to herself before taking a seat in front of the young hedgehog and making herself comfortable, showing she wasn't leaving any time soon. "Look I'm gonna cut the crap with you and just get right into it okay" she said smoothly which made Amy feel nervous. "I saw what happened today. I then heard about it from several people and saw the photo on SpaceBook" with what she said Amy's cheeks went red with embarrassment and threw her face into her hands, "It's on SpaceBook?" she cried out, the bat girl simply nodded. "Look, bottom line is Sonic is a jerk okay. He was a jerk to me and now he's a jerk to you."

With her face lifting slowly, Amy's eyes widened in surprise at the girl's words, "W-what do you mean he was a jerk to you? I thought you two really liked each other" as soon as the words left her lips she wished she'd kept her mouth shut. Rouge stared at her, her big sparkling eyes now wide and almost angry. It wasn't long into her face turned to a scowl, "I thought so two sweetie, but turns out Big Blue's one weakness is pretty red heads" she said spitefully, her head nudging towards the brown chipmunk that sat at the popular table. She paid no attention to either of them but was staring at her phone, probably talking to Sonic or hoping he'd secretly text her.

"No!" Amy gasped, stunned at the piece of gossip. She had never known the blue hedgehog to be the cheating type, it actually hurt her more. Rouge simply nodded, "Yep. I know we had problems and all…" her voice trailed and she took a deep breath, making the pink girl wonder if she still hurt from it all, "but instead of fighting for our relationship, he took the quickest escape he could get. That was making out with the Princess who was 'His Age'" she explained, quoting the words he had used. Amy's eyes looked back to her food, even though she wasn't even involved she felt guilty for just liking him now. Was he really that bad? "I had no idea…" she muttered lowly.

Seeing the look upon her face, Rouge did everything to keep her smile from growing wider. "Well needless to say, I wasn't happy. Unfortunately red heads aren't his only weakness. Little golden boy would do anything to keep his Uncle happy" the bat placed her elbow onto the table and cupped the side of her cheek, watching the twelve year old intently and waiting with expecting eyes. She got what she wanted when the girl nodded. She was neighbours with the fast boy, she had seen how close he was with his Uncle, it made perfect sense to her, and it was what Rouge needed her to think. With a deep sigh Rouge adjusted the top of her jump suit, "Too bad really, because I often thought good ol' Chuck would have loved his nephew to be with the cute little neighbour girl. Someone younger" she gritted her teeth, remembering how displeased the old hedgehog was when Sonic introduced them both.

"After what he did to me today? Absolutely not! You heard what Sonic said, he told me to stop stalking him and get a makeover! I am done with him!" the pink hedgehog shouted angrily. She didn't know what Rouge had intended but the girl wanted nothing to do with the jerk next door anymore, she wanted to wipe her hands clean of him. Rouge didn't seem fazed by her outburst, "Well exactly, that's what I'm saying. It would be a shame if the old man found out" she said slyly. With a raised brow Amy felt herself calm down, "You mean tell him?"

With a sparkle in her eyes, Rouge's lips curved seductively, "Better. Take his advice then when he wants you the most… let the old man find out for himself."

"What? You mean… let him find out about today?" her small heart was pounding, with excitement or horror she didn't know. Rouge was looking far too merciless for it to be anything light hearted, "You could, but you see rumours start fast through the smallest of actions. All it would take is a bruise to the face for a boyfriend's reputation to fall and then we'll see who his Uncle accuses."

Maybe she didn't think it through, or maybe she was on the time of the month… Or maybe she had just suffered the worst heart break from the hands of the only boy she ever loved. Whatever the reason, when Rouge held out her hand, Amy stared at it in anger before reaching out for it and taking a hold. The deal was sealed.

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The music had never stopped. For the whole hour it had blasted throughout the room, each note getting higher and higher which would normally send a horrid ringing through his ears, wishing they would just bleed already. This didn't happen this time. He didn't think about the music, even though he knew it would now haunt him forever. He felt that sound wasn't around him anymore, it was blocked out with the sound of his hiccupping breath whenever he breathed, getting caught in his dried out throat. All he could taste was dust, drying his mouth out completely. Those were just some of the problems; the only thing he could really focus on was his back. The horrible agony, it burned all over his small frail frame where every time he breathed deeply to keep the loud sob from escaping past his lips, his body would jerk which sent a fresh flash of pain to wave over him. To look at it was worse; despite his deep cobalt fur tedious red scaring could be seen all over. In lines that resembled whip lashes, he had a few cuts that no longer bled. Worst of all with his fur hiding most of it to a degree, some arears were not so lucky as patches of missing fur showed how badly irritated his skin really was. Raw blisters, scars and bruises lined everywhere, not a piece of his back with missing either one. It wasn't just his back though; the back of his arms showed the scars that his fur hid.

The classroom had been reassembled. When satisfied the teacher had let him fall to the ground. He was in too much pain to stand or to take the rag from his mouth, so she left him to scream. No one could hear him. She didn't watch him curl into a ball and shake in fear and agony, but she went to the desks and straightened them, placing them right. She had opened up all the blinds apart from the one on the door, she didn't unlock it either. She kept the music as it was. Looking at the clock she saw they still had half an hour left and it was after all detention. So walking up the boy again, she forced him onto his feet by locking her arms around his waist, his back pressing tightly into her harsh clothes causing another cry of pain. To helpless to fight, he had no option but to let her place him onto a chair in the very centre of the room. He kept his head down and held tightly onto his arms, his whimpers only audible when she untied the rag.

He had begged her to leave him alone, his breathing ragged and his eyes streaming with tears, but he refused to look at her. So she reached her hand out and gripped his chin tightly, her claws piercing him, he was forced to look at her then.

So there he was, sitting at a desk, a pencil in his hand and a piece of white paper with lines. A hundred lines saying the same thing;

'Worthless, hated and alone'

She had him write that a hundred times, knowing the more he wrote it, the more he saw it than the more he'd believe it.

He couldn't write though, his hand shook too much for it to resemble anything and the lines he had already written were washed away from the tears that fell from his muzzle. He wasn't allowed the cry though, he wasn't to make a noise or it would happen again. She had warned him and this time he was going to listen. That didn't mean that the tears stopped falling, or that his lips quivered or his body shook when he tried to hold himself together. He sat broken and no one had helped him.

The teacher sat her desk, seemingly lost in a book that she held in one hand, while the other held a small wooden ruler which she liked to hit against the table, creating a loud crack as she did it in time with the music. With every beat her eyes would flicker to the boy who jerked in fear from the horrid noise. The only noise that interrupted both of them was the sound of the bell ringing loudly throughout the halls. They both looked up to the clock that was above the door, seeing the time was right. Snapping her book shut the Science teachers eyes fixed onto the blue hedgehog who stared right back at her, she showed no emotion to him whereas he bit onto his bottom lip to keep himself from crying or screaming, he no longer knew what he was going to do, he just wanted to run away and never come back. But she had the key.

Sitting herself up from her chair, the teacher turned off the music and picked up Sonic's purple hoodie. With every advancing step she made to him, Sonic's head would raise higher to keep eye contact while he tried to push himself as far away from her without hurting his back more.

Her brow was furrowed down and she dropped his hoodie on his desk, "Put it on" she ordered, her voice deep and commanding. He blinked at her, just a few times but finally broke his pleading gaze, looking down at the garment. His shaky hands reached out enough to pick it up but when he tried to place it over his head, the pain in his back intensified from trying to bring his arms up. His entire body went into lock down, he felt he couldn't move his arms, legs or neck. All he could do was tremble without wanting to scream.

It was too hard to do so when he gave a harsh cry and dropped his arms back on the table, feeling he had given up. The teacher crossed her arms and waited. She had the key.

Knowing there was no other option, he bit down on his lip again, trying not to make another sound but with a forced back groan he held up his arms, audible clicks of his joints were heard clearly when he raised his arms into the air and pushed the hoodie over his head, pulling the bottom of it down so it covered every scar he had. The materiel hurt so badly, it rubbed and clung onto loose skin.

When it was finally on, Sonic looked back at her pleadingly. He was so desperate but too scared say anything to her. Speak when spoken too, that's was one of the things she said.

Turning her head towards the door, the teacher listened to see if any of her students had arrived yet, normally being able to hear them talk outside the room, but there were only a couple. She had time.

Turing back to the hedgehog, he still struggled to breath and the only reason tears were no longer falling from his eyes was because he did everything to fight them back. He was still trembling, his eyes red and irritated while his lips quivered. He never made a word; she had to make sure it stayed like that.

From the deathly silence between the two, her hands suddenly slammed against the desk, causing the hedgehog to hunch down further, "Now… I finally have your attention" she seethed, her teeth gritted together so much that every word she spoke made her hiss like the snake she resembled. Sonic looked up at her once again, not making a sound, but holding back another whimper when her eyes narrowed at his, "You will listen to me this time. This is what years of your attitude have done. This is all a result of you. I know what you're thinking, who to tell first now doubt?"

With panic Sonic choked on his own breath. Yes, yes that was what he had been waiting for all this time. As soon as he got out he would tell everyone! But she knew… There was no worry and she knew… "P-please" he whispered in a broken voice, but like a whip she lashed her hand into the air, holding the back of her open hand into the air as a threat. Gasping, Sonic placed his hand over his lips, showing he was silent. With a controlling smile, she lowered hers. "Good. Now let's go through our options shall we?" she leaned down until her face was no higher up then his, and wasn't all that far away. Fear of what she was going to say stopped him from pushing away.

"I know what you'll do; first you'd go to Robotnik. You'll think when he heard of this he'd inform the police who will come to arrest me and I'd lose my job and end up in prison. Let's face it though; the man is as fond of you as I am. Without any evidence he won't give you the time of day" she mused. For the first time that hour, Sonic grew angry at her. She wanted a challenge, she was getting one, "Every classroom has a security camera, all I'd have to do is get him to watch" he spat, his body still trembled violently but it looked more from anger then pain.

The teacher stood up, a look showing how little she was impressed with his reasoning, "My camera has been offline for a while now" she mused. Sonic looked down at his desk, his heart beating desperately while his head spun. His eyes were once again welling up when hearing her break his hope apart. "Now, let's say you tell your friends. I know how School works, you think you can trust your friends but what good will it do? All it takes is one person to know before everyone knows. Don't think I don't know about your days at the orphanage" the moment she spoke those words, Sonic's head shot up and he stared at her with horror. How did she know? "Yes I know, I know a lot about my students. I know that you're not as tough as you make out to be, I saw that for myself. How do you suppose it would look? The School bully got beat around by an old woman!" her voice grew louder and bitter when her hand slapped the table, causing him to shrink down, "Know this Sonic. The moment this gets out there is nothing to stop children older than you, stronger than you, from doing as they please. You have many enemies around here; the only thing that keeps you safe is your precious reputation. Would you risk it? Hmm?"

He shook his head slowly, this time being unable to look at her as fresh tears fell from his tightly shut eyes. He placed his hands to his ears, no longer being able to take it. He felt like he was going insane, her words were running through his mind, each breaking his sanity knowing through it all she was right. Too many people wanted to hurt him, but didn't dare… but now… if they knew… Shadow…

"Your final option, telling your Uncle" with hearing that word the blue hedgehog opened his eyes; she had his complete attention, though he rocked himself back and forth. "If you tell your Uncle then he will go to Robotnik. Again, I may lose my job, but you will lose your family. What do you think he'll say when the Principle shows him your file? All the records of your past activities…"

His eyes slowly lifted and he stared at her, still rocking back and forth and his hands tight upon his ears.

"Such things as… the boy you punched. The girl you pushed down the stairs for being in your way. The time you stole money from the Teachers desk…"

"No!" Sonic cried out, his hands no longer on his ears but firm on the desk and instead of rocking himself he stood up desperately, pain rushing through his legs. "N-no you can't!" he pleaded. The teacher stood straight and started to circle him, "What about when you broke that boys nose while playing football, or the girl you bullied online uploading photos of her and naming her fat?"

He cupped his face in his hands, shaking his head rapidly, "S-stop, p-please just stop!"

She stopped in front of him once again, "More importantly, why don't we just tell him about the drugs we found in your backpack?"

His heart stopped. Every part of his body trembled as he fell to his knees. Not knowing what else to do he grabbed her. His head rested upon her legs and he held onto her, tears streaming from his face, "please… p-please I'm begging you, i-it wasn't l-like that… i-it wasn't m-mine… please…"

So there he was. The biggest bully of the whole School on his knees, crying, suffering, humiliated and begging… The teacher smiled.

With her hands she held onto the sides of his face and pushed him back, forcing her to stare at him, "The only reason your Uncle knows none of this is because of his history with Robotnik, you and I both know that. I have given you the options and have told you the consequences; the rest is up to you now. Just note, the next time you back answer me, humiliate me, show me up or draw _incriminating pictures of me…" _she had spat, Sonic tried to defend himself, wanted to scream it wasn't who drew it, but she silenced him, "This is the detention you get. If you want to carry on through the year comfortably, then Be-Have Your-Self!" with the cry of her voice, her hand once again raised high only this time is came down and slapped across Sonic's cheek, sending him to the ground.

Watching him hold his face which slowly turned red, she left him to wallow in his own pity. She picked up his bag and threw it at him where he lay. She heard a loud noise of students talking among themselves from outside of the classroom, when looking at the clock she had realized she kept her students waiting for five minutes.

Ignoring the boy who painfully struggled to push himself up and grab his bag, she walked to the door, finally opening the blind. Her hand reached down her top and she retrieved the key. Placing it in the lock she looked back at the boy who stared longingly at the door, "Remember what I said hedgehog. It's time you knew I was serious."

With that she unlocked the door.

There was not a moment wasted, desperation forced him to use his abnormal speed. The moment that door was opened he ran, ran and ran, not knowing what else to do. Students stared after him but he didn't care, no one could see him like this!

Only fate was cruel. Just he turned the corner which would lead him to the exit doors; he failed to notice the body that stood in his way. Had it not been for the persons strength the impact of his speed would have sent both of them to the ground, but because the echidna was used to his great speed, his strong arms had caught him and stopped him from falling down. It was just a second but that was longer then was needed. "Where you been? We waited ages for you outside. We're bunking off you wanna…" he couldn't carry on. His large hands gripped tightly onto Sonic's arms stopping from escaping. The red echidna had seen him how he was. He saw the way his best friend's body trembled, he saw the red irritation upon his face and he saw the tears that fell from his eyes.

The second had passed, and Sonic panicked. Kicking his friend harshly in the stomach, Knuckles was forced to let him go, dropping to his knees completely winded.

While the echidna groaned in pain, Sonic ran through the exit door leaving nothing but a gush of wind behind him while the double doors slammed again the walls.

Neither hedgehog or echidna saw, but another figure was soon following Sonic's tracks, running past the red teenager and following the fastest thing alive through the exit doors. The only thing Knuckles heard was the sound of small footsteps running past him, the last thing he saw were two tails leaving the building

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**Woop background stories and cliffhangers, just what everyone loves yaay.**

**Anyway I hope you guys liked it, please leave me a review cus I really love hearing what people think, or whether it's worth carrying on with.**

**So yeah see you next time, if you have any suggestions please let me know and if I use it I'll give you a shout out :)**

**I don't write slash or things like that... just tragic abuse... oh lordie. Anyway, please review and see you next time!**


	4. Strange Day

**Let me just say: LONGEST CHAPTER EVER!**

**Whew, anyway I wanna thank everyone who reviewed, it was so awesome to hear you guys liked the story. Yes it's pretty dark but this chapter lightens things up a little.**

**Also to Ghostkid33 thanks for the review and sorry it made you cry ^^ But now you have the answer of who was following Sonic yaay.**

**I can't help but do Sonic and Tails fluff, I love their friendship so it's hard to keep them hating each other, but even though the summery says Sonic is mean to Tails let me just say... The story aint over yet ;)**

**Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter**

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Following him had seemed like a good idea at first, but how do you keep up with the fastest kid alive? Panting, the young fox nearly fell to his knees. He took a moment to stop and catch his breath before his baby blue eyes darted around, looking for any clue as to where he could be. There wasn't really anywhere he could go to unless he left School ground; he certainly wasn't going to look for him then, but other than that… His eyes drifted to the small football stadium that was the main attraction of the School. It was often used for practise by the sport stars, always before a big game. Though as far as he knew it wasn't being used… Placing his hand to his chin, he narrowed his eyes in thought. Looking to the nearby trees that surrounded him none of them moved, yet the ones nearer the stadium blew around from a strong force before settling down. He found him.

The field was empty, no gear or nets were out or ready for use. All practice was going to be tomorrow, all the players got three lessons off for it. It was going to be the biggest game of their lives, the coach had informed them some of the top University reps were going to be there looking for talent so they had to be at their best.

Right now he couldn't care less about that stupid game.

Completely alone and isolated Sonic sat in the bleachers. His knees curled up his chest and his hands gripped the sides of his head as his whole body trembled. This time he was completely alone, there was no one to keep him quiet. With everything he had left in him he screamed, did nothing more than just scream. Tears fell down his muzzle and normally he would quickly wipe them away, but this time he didn't care, he freely let them fall from his face. No one saw him cry, no one saw the look of desperation on his face as he begged; for what he didn't know. All he could do was plead for something, even though he was alone.

His back was in blistering pain as the harsh itchy material scratched at his scars which only made him want to take it off and throw it away, but even though he was alone he was too afraid someone would see.

The young fox hadn't known any of this. All he saw as he climbed up the stairway was Sonic the Hedgehog sitting in the middle of the bleaching and he did was scream. He wasn't sure of what to do… Sonic was the biggest bully in the whole School, no one could take him, so disturbing him may result in being thrown into a dust bin. On the other hand though, leaving him just felt like he was no better. With a nervous breath, the boy forced his feet forward as quietly as possible. When walking onto the row of seats he had expected to be noticed, but he wasn't. Sonic's eyes were shut tight and he was too loud to her the fox's small footsteps. This didn't make the butterflies go away as he was just an arm's reach away and he was still unseen. Looking around he felt he couldn't back out. Loud pitiful sobs were enough to echo around the stadium so naturally he almost fell back in shock when the fifteen year old gasped and snapped to face him after the boy quietly cleared his throat.

Using the seats as a support, he watched Sonic's red puffy eyes glare down at him in anger while he used the back of his sleeve to rub his muzzle dry. When he spoke his voice was broken and whispery, but clear enough to still sound intimidating, "What the hell are you doing here you little freak?!" he spat. Tails shuffled his feet, looking down he felt too afraid to answer him. Seeing he wasn't getting a response, the hedgehog looked away and fell deep into his chair, ignoring the pain it cause, and crossed his arms over his chest, holding himself together as much as he could. He could feel his breath jerk harshly as he tried to recover himself, but he just couldn't get a hold of his emotions. He was left whimpering with tears in his eyes while being watched by the two tailed freak. It just kept getting worse.

Knowing there was nothing more he could do, he shut his eyes once again and dipped his head, "Just go" he whispered, another tear falling into his arms.

Tails looked up from his feet, and for the first time since he had met him, he felt pity towards him. A part of him wanted to just do as he was told and forget all about it, another part wanted to take a photo and show everyone that the hedgehog wasn't immortal… but most of all he wanted to help. So instead he walked closer, set his bag down next to Sonic's and sat not that far away from him. Even though the fifteen year old didn't open his eyes, he growled lowly in irritation, it was simply ignored.

With his hands clasped together and his thumbs twirling, Tails's eyes flickered around, "Umm… I wanted to talk to you… at lunch, but you got detention so…" as his thoughts trailed off, he became silent, his eyes fixed in shock and worry as the hedgehog whimpered sorrowfully when placing his hand to his mouth, trying to keep himself together. Choking on his breath again he wiped his eyes once more and turned his head away, not wanting the younger child to see him like this.

Not knowing how to respond, Tails hesitated but placed a nervous hand on the older boy's arm, unsure if it would give any comfort at all, but he wasn't pushed away, and that was victory enough. "I-I… I don't know what h-happened… but I'm not gonna ask" the fox stated. Fortunately it might have been what Sonic wanted to hear, because he seemed to settle down a little bit after that, but he still wouldn't look at him. "I-it's just… Well the Science project, we've been asked to work together and…"

"Oh grow up Tails, what the hell do I care about some stupid Science project that I'd let you talk to me during lunch!" the blue teens harsh words came at a little surprise, but he finally looked at the two tailed fox who quickly took his hand away from his arm. "Yeah but… it's important" the kid tried to defend, Sonic simply laughed bitterly, "I don't freaking care how important it is, I don't want anything to do with that project. I don't want to impress the stupid teacher with pathetic crap that means nothing to me!" Sonic had yelled angrily, his voice had been just as loud as it was when he was screaming and sounded similar, only this time it was with words. "What the hell is Science going to do for me? Huh? Why should I have to go through it, I haven't done anything! It's not fair!" he cried out, burying his face into his knees.

Tails remained silent not knowing how to make sense of what he heard. He knew he didn't understand what was wrong, he wanted to ask so badly but knew he wouldn't get the answer; instead he'd probably shot away, and despite how awkward the situation was he didn't want to leave. Playing with the cuffs of his gloves, he bravely spoke up "Sonic…" he started, only to realise he didn't know what to say that would be right, so he just had to say anything, "Are you going back to class? I think we're in math" he looked down at his watch and saw that they were late by fifteen minutes. It wouldn't go down well, and they really shouldn't waist anymore time.

Sonic didn't seem to care though as he shook his head side to side. His breathing slowly steadied and other then the stains on his muzzle there were no signs of anymore tears. He held the side of his temple and rubbed it, feeling a headache come on. "I'm not going back" he sniffed lowly. With a nervous stare, Tails felt anxious, "But why?" he blurted out. "I'm just not! And I'm not going in tomorrow either" the hedgehog said, taking the final word as he stared at the football field. He didn't want all his team seeing his back.

"Well… what are you gonna do?" the yellow fox asked, his response was a shrug of the shoulders, "I dunno… but I got three hours to kill now" the hedgehog breathed, seemingly a lot calmer now. His voice sounded normal while his trembling had stopped, Tails wondered if it was because he wasn't talking about Science anymore. Then suddenly it hit him like a ton of bricks, and he realised what the problem was. "Sonic… are you worried about failing Science?"

The moment he spoke those words, Sonic stared at him completely bewildered. Was he serious? Was he freaking serious right now? Was failing Science such a disaster for the nerd that he'd believe Sonic the hedgehog would be having a mental break down over it? He wanted nothing more than to tell him the truth, tell him the real reason he was out here and tell him why his favourite teacher was nothing more than manipulative bitch… but he couldn't. Maybe it was better for him to believe he was scared of failing instead of telling the truth. Her word's kept ringing in his mind… all it takes is one person to know.

So instead of fighting back, he huffed, "Yep… how'd you know?" he said almost sarcastically. Tails smiled, feeling he was finally getting somewhere now, plus he knew everything about Science so maybe he could even help. "It's a big deal. I know you haven't been doing so well with your grades so failing a class might result in not graduating, and that's scaring you aren't it?"

"Yes Tails, that's exactly it" the fifteen year old said flatly, not paying much attention anymore, Tails however wasn't catching on, "Sometimes Mrs Winter…" he stopped when Sonic raised his brow in confusion, "Our Science teacher. Sometimes she lets me stay after School and goes over things with me. I know you don't like her but she's a really good teacher, she's really nice. If you ask then maybe she'll let you stay back and-"

"Shut up, just shut up!" Sonic snapped as his hands clasped over his ears. He shut his eyes once again trying to force memories away. This time Tails did as told, too shy to say anything else now. His shoulders dropped in disappointment as he stared at the football pitch, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. He looked at his watch to see they were twenty minutes late, but he still didn't have the heart to leave.

Letting a small time of silence pass by, Sonic's ear twitched when the childish voice spoke up, "I'm scared of the big game" he mumbled. Turning his head down slightly, the blue hedgehog raised his brow. Seeing his gaze, the fox ran his hand threw his bangs shyly, his face beginning to flush, "Well everyone's older than me, and you guys get pretty rough… No one really wants me on the team and I'm scared of failing gym. The only way I can really pass this year is by getting extra credit."

He wasn't sure why, but Sonic felt his lips turn to a frown. He knew Tails was terrible at the game, he often liked to point it out in the locker rooms after practice, but hearing it from the kids own mouth… it wasn't as satisfying as he thought it would be, that and to hear the kid might be held back… made him feel a bit sorry.

With a deep sigh, Sonic pushed himself up from his chair, tensing from the pain that shot through his back, but he managed. Reaching down he picked up his bag and held it under his arm, Tails shortly did the same, "Are you going back to class?" the kid asked hopefully. With a small laugh, Sonic smirked "I told you I'm not going back" with that he placed his hand to Tails's head and lightly pushed him aside to walk past. "B-but where are you going?" the fox called out as the teenager made his way to the exit.

He paused for a moment, then turned back and looked at the fox who stared at him with big blue eyes full of curiosity. "I got to get a few things…" he answered. The eight year old had expected him to leave at that point, so he looked down to the floor sadly, his twin tails curling around his feet.

There was nothing more than shock in his eyes when he heard the hedgehog's voice once again. "You coming or not?"

* * *

There was no way Tails could have ever imagined this day would come. No matter how many times he worked it out in his mind, the odds of this occurring had less chance then a black hole swallowing them all up in a matter of seconds. Yet here he was, in the middle of the Grand Mall… bunking off School with Sonic the Hedgehog. This had to be the strangest day of his life.

Sonic however couldn't care less. Bunking off School had never been such a big deal to him, often he and his friends, mostly Knuckles and Silver, would skip class and come here to hang out. The girls sometimes joined them but not often. He did enjoy it when they did though, however they had to avoid some shops or else they'd be reported for skipping School. Out of all times he had left though, he had never left by himself; he always had at least one person with him. Now out of all times the last thing he wanted was to be with his friends, yet he couldn't bear to be alone. He didn't want his teacher's words to be true.

So there they both sat side by side, him and the School nerd, on the edge of the large fountain that centred in the Grand Mall. Instead of shouting and cowering like yellow fox had once thought, Sonic was actually being pretty cool to him. The hedgehog hadn't had his lunch and was pretty hungry, so they had got something from the Hot dog stand. He had ordered five chilly dogs whereas Tails passed, he had already eaten, and he didn't really have any money on him. A couple of hours had already passed by; they just needed another hour before they could go home. When they first arrived Sonic had dragged him to the video game shop, then a couple of computer stores. He was picking up a few spare parts that he didn't really know what they were, but he had a list with him so Tails had helped him out there. The shop they spent the most time in was the clothing department. For some reason Sonic had dragged him straight to the Men's jackets and hoodies and it wasn't long for the eight year old to get incredibly bored.

Sonic either didn't notice or didn't care, he had been too busy looking through all the different jackets, and every time he found one he liked the looked of he would always check for what the material was like inside, especially on the back, and every time he kept saying it was too harsh. Tails hadn't really known Sonic to be so picky, he didn't even wear jackets normally but suddenly now he did, and knowing what everyone was like pretty soon every guy in School would start wearing jackets. At one point he got so bored he could have sworn he saw Amy and Rouge looking at dresses on the other side of the store. Eventually Sonic had found the one he wanted, and finally they could leave once he purchased a few of them in different colours and all in a size S.

Now they had a chance to relax a little after walking around. Sonic was on his last chilly dog, wolfing it down quickly. There wasn't much banter between the two though, in fact other than talking video games and computer parts they didn't seem to talk at all, apart from Tails complaining about skipping School; though if he didn't stop Sonic said he'd push him in the fountain and hold him down. Now Tails sat quietly and watched the other eat. His feet dangled above the ground and sometimes he would gaze down at his brown shoes.

"How can you eat so many?" he mumbled as the teen licked the sauce off his fingers. Sonic looked at him and paused which kept his finger in his mouth, making the younger of the two laugh a little. Smiling he continued, "Got a fast metabolism, gotta eat about six thousand calories a day just to avoid health problems" he explains, recalling what his Uncle had told him, it was no wonder he used to be skin and bone. Tails looked fascinated, "Wow, that's really interesting, too bad we weren't working on biology or else we could have studied the theory behind your speed and how your body coped with such a high friction and-"

"Will you quit already? I told you I'm not some lab rat you can run tests on" the hedgehog growled, causing Tails stop and look down, "S-sorry, I'm just interested is all" he mumbled, only Sonic scoffed at him, "Yeah well you don't see me asking to look at your double rear end all day just to work out how you spin those things without getting them tangled up now do ya?"

Not really knowing how to respond, he decided to say nothing at all. Due to this things started to feel awkward, and both could tell. Tails didn't look at the hedgehog and he couldn't help but feel a little bad about it, so taking a deep breath he spoke "I just… I hate feeling different" he admitted, much to Tails's surprise. Expecting the kid to ask more questions or point out that that was just how the hedgehog made him feel, he felt confused when all he received was a small smile. "How about we agree to not mention it anymore? I won't ask about your speed and you don't make fun of me for having two tails" with that Tails reached out an open palm. Sonic grinned in amusement at how serious the kid was being, but reached out a hand and took his, they shook.

"Alright kiddo, now that's out the way, where to next?" the blue blur asked while standing up from the fountain, this time with less pain which he was happy about. Tails jumped off as well and picked up the bags, even though they weren't his. His young eyes looked all around, they did have another hour to go after all, but there wasn't much that interested… him…

"Well there's not really much else to look at, so how about we head for the arcade…" Sonic's voice trailed as he spoke to the other, only when he looked down he noticed that neither Tails nor his bags were next to him anymore. "Tails?" he called out, looking around but he couldn't see him anyway. "Tails where are you?" he tried again, starting to feel a little bit worried. He wandered around a little, keeping his eyes peeled back for the kid, but it wasn't until he saw a kid with two tails run past an aisle that he dropped his shoulders in relief before following.

How found it strange that the kid had suddenly ran into the Sport's Gear shop, but he figured he was probably looking for something to help him in the big game, not that there was much he could do, the kid pretty much sucked. Looking all around he was taken back when he found the young animal standing in the kid's shoe department sitting down on a padded bench and staring up longingly at what had to be the most expensive shoes in the store; and this was a pretty expensive store.

Walking to his side, Tails hardly flinched when he heard a small whistle behind him, "Light Speed shoes huh? Never thought you'd be the Brand name type" the hedgehog remarked, he tapped the top of his foot on the floor a couple of times to emphasise that those were the same make shoes he was currently wearing. Tails did look at his shoes, the swayed red with a white strap and golden buckle were the coolest shoes the brand had to offer. Rumours had gone round that the reason no one could get those kind of shoes was because Sonic had them custom made, meaning his family was rich; probably why he could spend so much on jackets. But as cool as they were, they weren't the ones Tails wanted. He looked back up to the shoes on display; a few small lights giving it a spotlight appearance while a big poster of a Raccoon wearing the shoes while standing on a mountain. They were the same swayed material as Sonic's, all the Light Speed shoes were, but while have the shoe was red the front of them were a dazzling white with a grey durable sole on the bottom of them.

Tails placed his chin in his palms and sighed longingly at them, "They're so cool" he couldn't help but mumble. Sonic sat down next to him, looking at the shoes as well. They had been out for a while now but the price hadn't gone down much, it was still in the triple figures. "Why don't you just get them?" he shrugged, Tails however looked at him dumbfounded, "I can't afford them" he answered flatly. Sonic still didn't seem to find the problem, "Well then just save up for them. You get money of your folk's right?"

The eight year old looked down sadly, "They don't get that much money, so anything I do get I save it up for electronics and scraps for my machines" he explained. Simply nodding his head, Sonic still didn't seem that interested. "Do you work?" the kid asked, getting Sonic's attention again as he didn't like the silence. Scratching his head, the teen looked down at his bag of expensive jackets now feeling a bit embarrassed he had spent so much in front of the kid, "Not really, but I get an allowance. I don't really buy much so it saved up over the years" he said. Tails raised his brow curiously, "You live with your Uncle right? What does he do?"

Sonic had felt his stomach turn a little, thinking that the fox was going to start asking about his parents, luckily that hadn't been his intent at all which made him relax a little, "He used to be… well he still is really, he's an inventor. He used to work for the king years ago, I think he was the Minister of Science or something like that, he used to be partners with Principal Robitnik-"

"Oh my gosh! Are you telling me your Uncle is Sir Charles the Hedgehog?!" Tails's shouted excitedly which caused a few on goers to stare. Sonic looked at him uneasily, "Ugh… I think so. I know him as Chuck…"

"I can't believe it! Your Uncle is the greatest Scientist alive! His work is incredible; did you know he actually discovered a way to convert natural matter into food? Or that he managed to conduct an ongoing fuel source using nothing but water and a compressor?" the child rambled on and on. Sonic had lost him a while back. Truthfully he didn't know much about his Uncles work as it never interested him, only now it seemed like he was somewhat of an idol in Tails's eyes.

Raising his hands to get the kid to stop talking, he interrupted him before the kid lost his breath, "Slow down kid, you're getting a little too excited" he laughed. Tails looked at him bashfully, "Sorry, but I'm just a huge fan" he squealed, though finally calmed down. "Yeah I can see that" the older boy laughed again. He couldn't help but smile, it was nice to see someone who admired his Uncle, especially as his Uncle didn't really get to go out much now days. He didn't even work as an inventor, just did it as a hobby. It made him realise that Tails actually had a lot in common with his Uncle… heck they might even get on really well. Then before he knew he was talking from the heart, not even thinking about School or his reputation anymore, "If you want to meet him then why don't you come over to mine tomorrow after School?"

Tails had completely frozen. Did he ask him to his house? Was this seriously happening? The words kept playing in his mind but he didn't understand them. This whole day had been so strange he didn't even know if he was dreaming at this point, it would make more sense.

Sonic could see that Tails hadn't expected that from him, he resembled too much of a dear caught in headlights, so he waved his hand over Tails's eyes to get the shy reaction from him "Y-you want me to come to your house?" he stuttered. The blue hedgehog chuckled lightly, "Well yeah that's what I said. Sides we gotta work on that… project thing so might as well as my Unc to help out right?" he reasoned, though he found he couldn't bring himself to say Science without getting tense.

Tails looked ready to drop he was in so much shock, but he couldn't hold back the wide smile that was spreading across his face, "Y-yeah, I'd love too!" he cried out, Sonic gave him the thumbs up, which coming from him was a big deal. Why was he doing this? Was it because he followed him when he was upset? Maybe he saw he was trying to help… did this mean they were friends? He never had real friends before, especially no one as cool as Sonic! With a friend like him no one would pick on him anymore.

All Tails wanted to do was grab the blue hedgehog and thank him again and again, but he wanted to look cool, so instead he cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders "I mean, yeah that would be cool" he muttered, looking back at the shoes. Sonic saw through the act easily though, it really amused him. He then looked back at the shoes that Tails loved so much, only to look at the ones he was wearing; brown, ripped and laced up. No one wore laces anymore, they were so lame, and these looked too small for him as well. Could his parents not afford any new shoes for him at all?

With a tug of his lips Sonic stood and picked up the precious shoes before handing them to the child who was reluctant to take them, "Sonic what-" "Try them on!" he urged, not letting him protest. Staring at them with want, Tails eventually took them sadly. They felt so smooth and now he was actually holding them, but he could never afford them. It was bittersweet when he took off his old worn out shoes and placed the new Light Speeds on his felt. They felt so gooood! The material was a perfect fit and the padding was comfortable. They're said to be the strongest shoes going as well, Sonic was pretty much evidence of that. Now they were on his feet, he stood and walked around in them. Why? Why did they have to be so good? It was like having a pillow on each foot, and they felt warm yet breathable. He never wanted to take them off.

Turning towards Sonic he wanted to get an opinion on how they looked, but the hedgehog was near the accessories. He was picking up a couple of things; they were all bangles and bands to put on your wrists over gloves. Looking through he picked up two small black bands and smiled at the fact they stretched out. Turning back to the fox that had fallen in love with the shoes, he grabbed the child's hands and before the fox realised he slid the bands on either wrist. When seeing his look complete, Sonic smiled widely, placing his hands on the child's shoulders and turning him to look in the mirror. Tails was amazed at how much of a difference shoes and bands actually made, he looked so different and Sonic was by his side. "Now that is one cool dude" the hedgehog grinned, proudly leaning his arm on Tails shoulder.

Tails didn't want to ever leave that spot again. In that mirror stood the fastest thing alive, most popular boy in School, admired by everyone and the football star, and next to him stood a young two Tailed fox who was actually wanted, who was asked to be by his side, and here they looked like they had been best friends for years. He wanted that reflection to be his life so badly…

But it wasn't.

With a questioning look, Sonic watched as the eight year old walked away from the mirror and sat back down. Miserably he took the bands off his wrists and placed the on the side. He was sadder about taking off the shoes and having to place his old ones back on, now once again looking like the nerd he was. While he loved it, he Sonic hadn't of asked him to try them on, because now he had a moment of false hope that should never have been there.

He hunched over and sighed, looking at those shoes. "What's up?" he heard Sonic ask when he approached him, only Tails sighed looking more upset "I can't afford them" he repeated.

"Yeah I know"

Looking up slowly, he watched as Sonic reached down for both the shoes and picked up the bangles. He had thought he was putting them back, but instead he carried them over to the check out. "Sonic what are you doing?" he gasped, quickly following the older boy worried that Sonic was trying to get him to spend what he didn't have. With horror he started panicking when the young lady took the items from the teen and scanned them through the check out. "Sonic I told you I can't afford them" he whined, grabbing onto the hedgehog's sleeves hoping he would listen to him. To his horror the cashier spoke up and told them the amount of rings it had all come to, and it was enough to send him pale, "I-I can't pay it, I-I…"

But there was no need for him to carry on protesting. Sonic had taken his wallet from out his bag and pulled out his credit card before handing it to the woman. The young fox was just speechless when he watched the whole thing, it was like a play happening in front of him, it just couldn't be real. Yet Sonic took the carrier bag that held the famous shoes inside and thanked the woman before stepping aside to let the next person be served.

He kept so cool about the whole thing that Tails was bewildered by that alone, he just didn't understand what had happened, was he just buying it for someone his age maybe? Getting him to try them for size comparison? That would make more sense… that must have been it.

"S-Sonic?" he stammered, wanting to ask a million questions, but he was silent as Sonic reached out a hand took all the bags that the younger one was holding, all the things Sonic had brought from himself. When Tails was left with only his satchel he froze when the hedgehog handed him the new bag. "Here" he said so casually, as if the kids dream shoes weren't contained in that bag but something simple like a snack bar. Not really knowing how to respond, his shaky hand reached out and slowly accepted the gift. He was in such a shock that his mouth was starting to feel dry he hadn't closed it yet, he looked inside the bag, just to confirm that it was actually the shoes in there and not just a prank. But there it was; a small shoe box with a picture of the beloved shoes on the side, it was actually there… and it was his?

"This… for me?" he questioned, still not taking the hint much to Sonic's annoyance as the teen rolled his eyes, he felt like being sarcastic but thought the kid might not get it. "Well you carried my bags around all day, might as well have something for you to take home as well right?" he laughed. Suddenly he saw the kid look down, small whimpers coming from his lips, "Tails?" he placed a hand on the boys shoulder. The moment the fox felt his touch he couldn't contain it any longer. With a sharp cry he pounced at the hedgehog, wrapping his arms around his waist and squeezed him as hard as he could, not able to stop the large smile upon his face, "Oh Sonic thank you thank you thank you so much! I can't believe you.."

He had expected the other to respond, but he never expected the bone chilling scream that echoed around the store and grabbed the attention of everyone. "No stop stop! Tails let me go!" the hedgehog cried, grabbing the fox and pushing him away with enough force that nearly sent him to the floor. Looking at him with dread, Tails could see Sonic's hands go straight to his back, his whole face had twisted like he was in horrific pain and there were actual tears falling from his muzzle. "I-I'm so sorry" he tried to defend, worried not just for what the bully would do, but as to why a hug had hurt him so much in the first place.

Sonic wasn't listening though, instead he hissed through the pain until he could cope. His face went bright red when he rubbed the tears away from his muzzle quickly in embarrassment, knowing that a lot of people had seen them. His eyes darted around looking for anything to distract him and hopefully get rid of the unwanted attention. Only when he lay on the other side of the shop, he realised it wasn't just strangers who had been watching him.

"Oh no…" was all he could say, Tails looked behind and followed his stare. On the other side was Knuckles, Silver and Espio, all staring with their eyes wide and a look of disgust on their faces. Not only had they seen Sonic scream in pain, but they had watched him get the kid to try on those shoes and pay for them.

Dealing with them was the last thing Sonic wanted to do, so as fast he possibly could, he picked up all the bags that were dropped on the floor, throwing the shoes into Tails's arms and then grabbed the eight year old by his wrist. Using his speed he ran out of the shop and out of the Mall itself, leaving nothing but a gush of wind behind and three friends who wanted an explanation.

* * *

**Yaay Tails got his shoes! But not without crushing Sonic and hurting his back, poor hedgie! But Le gasp! His friends ain't gonna be happy now!**

**So to find out how it continues please leave a review (as they are the boot to kick my butt when it comes to updating) and please let me know how you think the story is going :)**

**Till next time xx**


	5. Lies

**A week without updating and it feels like it's been months, suppose that's a good thing. To top it off I consider this a short chapter and it has 4000 words! I think I'm losing it.**

**I big thank you to my reviewies! You guys are awesome and a reply to Guest- I don't think my fingers could cope with longer chapters but thought is lovely, thank you ^^**

**Anyways on with the story!**

* * *

Thanks to the unwanted attention, the two boys had made a quick break for the exit and didn't think twice about going back. There was still some time before School was officially out, but by walking home instead of running at impossible speeds, they could make it without a worry; though it didn't hurt to get an ice cream on the way.

The hedgehog and fox walked slowly along the pavement, blissfully enjoying how peaceful it surprisingly was. Even with them walking down an avenue there was no traffic and no one outside of the homes, likely being they were either in School or at work. It was nice though, a nice simple walk. Also thanks to Sonic being the School idol Tails didn't feel so worried about the bullies that liked to follow him home. It really was a strange day.

Curiously Tails looked up to the blue hedgehog, they hadn't spoken much since they left but Tails had held onto his new shoes as if they were his life support. He was afraid of someone taking them and Sonic turning his back, but with his own thoughts spinning through his mind, the eight year old couldn't help but wonder what was going through Sonic's. He seemed distant, like he wasn't even there anymore, but just an empty shell walking around. Tails wanted to ask him, or just talk about something, anything to break him from his trance, but to his surprise Sonic spoke for the first time in a while.

"This where you live?" he asked suddenly, stopping just outside of a small quaint house that had plenty of garden growing around it and a small metal warehouse right next door. Tails couldn't help but feel stupid when he realised he was staring at his own home, wondering whether to say yes or no. So finally he got over his surprise and nodded his head, "Yeah it's mine… How did you know?" he asked curiously, how did the hedgehog know?

The lid of Sonic's eyes closed half way tiredly before a simple point of the metal warehouse was all the response Tails would get. "Oh" the kid mumbled before turning back to the hedgehog. They both stood a little while and Tails felt he needed to speak, "S-Sonic… I just wanna say… Thank you so much for today" he smiled shyly at the older boy. Sonic however looked at him questionably, "Umm… yeah okay" he simply stated, his eyes drifting away while his whole face seemed dull. He noticed and instantly Tails felt guilt and worry grew within him, he looked down to the floor and rubbed his hands together nervously, "I-I just uh…"

He was stopped shortly by the gloved hand that was held up in front of his face, "Look Tails… Don't worry about it, just enjoy the shoes alright" Sonic spoke, though his words were kind it sounded almost patronising to the young fox who could simply nod his head, smile no longer on his face. He watched the hedgehog sigh deeply before tiredly placing a hand to his forehead. Doing so made Tails realise how pale the other really was, almost sickly. He could only hope it wasn't from the hug he gave him before, but when he tried to ask Sonic shot him down, what was he to do? At least he didn't seem angry about it.

"Right… I'm going home" the teenager announced, before pushing past the youngster and starting on his journey. "W-wait! What about School tomorrow?" Tails cried out, not really happy about seeing the hedgehog walk away. Sonic hardly looked back but walked slower, "I told you I'm not going tomorrow. Come to my house at four!"

With that a flash of blue gushed by and Sonic stood there no longer, Tails was now just alone. A million thoughts were racing around his brain. No matter how many times he thought of it he didn't believe the events of today had actually taken place. Sonic, his number 1 bully, had not only asked him to hang out over all his other friends, but had bought him the most amazing shoes he had ever seen in his entire life! Just when he thought he had messed everything up, Sonic still wanted him to go to his house… and meet the amazing Sir. Charles!

The smile on the eight year olds face just couldn't grow wider and in a burst of enjoy he called out for his parents attention while running into his home.

* * *

The pain on Sonic's back just couldn't feel anymore worse as the teenager lay on his bed, his face buried deep within the pillows he gripped onto tightly while he used the soft material to muffle out the gritting screams he cried. His back was once again exposed as his Uncle sat by his side on the bed and rubbed his hands across his nephews quills in comfort, "Calm down Sonny, not long now" he hushed, but was only ignored. With the icepack that practically burned his skin the moment it touch it didn't make younger hedgehog think of it being over soon, every second was feeling like an hour and he knew this was only the start.

When removing the ice away from his back, Chuck stared at the injury in a pitiful trance. It was hideous to look at, nothing but strips of red and patches of raw skin that blistered and swelled. When Sonic had walked through the house he could tell by looking at him something was wrong, but this was by far the least he had expected to see when the boy cried out after he placed a hand to his back for support.

Rummaging a hand through the medical box he had by his side, the older hedgehog picked out an antibiotic and poured it onto a small clean towel. He didn't need to warn his nephew about the coming pain as the strong smell already filled the room and Sonic held the pillow closer to himself and trembled a little more. Surely enough a sharp cry echoed through the room as the cloth was pressed firmly against his back. Sonic placed the side of his hand into his mouth and bit down hard, not allowing himself to make another sound. He had to stay quiet.

Not wanting to let his nephew suffer anymore then he had too, Chuck stroked the towel across his back quickly yet gentle, then he picked up the same cream he had used on Sonic's shoulders yesterday and rubbed it upon all the areas that had been cut. Finishing off he picked up a roll of gauze and placed it to one side before standing up from the bed and stepping closer to the teenagers arms. Carefully he reached out and held both before slowly lifting him until he could sit himself up properly. It was a move Sonic hadn't wanted to make, but he helped his Uncle help him by using what little strength he had to sit himself up. Pain alone was what made him hunch over while he let his arms cross against his chest. His Uncle got onto the needed job, grabbing the gauze he wrapped it around Sonic's whole body until every bruise and cut was covered.

He felt completely awful and he knew he looked it. He didn't want to face his Uncle, he didn't want to talk about it, but now that Chuck was finished he put his first aid kit aside and sat down in front of the teen, ready and waiting to talk. Sonic wanted to run away, but couldn't, not in his state, so instead he had to avoid the topic as much as he could, which was hard as his Uncle looked down at him sternly, not willing to accept anything that wasn't the truth. "Sonic I want to know what happened!" he stated, crossing his arms showing how serious he felt. He was silent for a moment, his eyes keeping to his knees, "I told you… I slipped and-"

"Don't lie to me boy!" Chuck snapped, leaving Sonic in silence. He could feel tears sting in the corners of his eyes but did everything to keep them from falling, all he did the past few days was cry and he wanted to be better than that, but he didn't know what hurt more, the pain in his back or the guilt that wrenched through his heart. His Uncle didn't look sad like he did, he looked annoyed and frightfully worried, but why wouldn't he be? He wasn't getting the truth and it was killing him, "You look a mess and I don't buy the whole slipped and fell football practice, which may I add you said was tomorrow" the other hedgehog stated. In a slight panic Sonic shook his head, "N-no, I mean, they moved it to today last minute because they're having the pitch redone" he mumbled, much to his Uncle's annoyance, "Stop mumbling and talk to me properly. If this happened at the School why didn't they take you to the doctors? Or better yet why didn't they let me know?"

"I-I… Coach said it wasn't that bad and to shake it off" the teenager lied quickly, not knowing what else to do. Fortunately his Uncle, though suspicious at first, seemed to believe it. Placing a hand to his forehead he took a moment to calm his rising anger, "First your shoulders… and now this? That's it. I'm going to that School tomorrow and having a word with Robotnik."

"No!" Sonic cried fearfully, his eyes growing wide and his hands quickly grabbed his Uncle's arms in desperation, though Chuck was clearly shocked at the outburst, "Please Chuck it's really not that bad, I-I don't want Egghead involved" he begged. His Uncle didn't take his request lightly however, so simply he pulled himself from his nephews hold and stood up appearing much taller than the other. "I'm going to ask you one last time Sonic and I want you to tell me the truth" he commanded, Sonic had no option but to look him in the eyes which scared him as he knew what his Uncle was going to ask.

"Is somebody hurting you?"

Yes! Yes! He wanted to scream it so badly, just wanted to grab his Uncle and let it go, to tell him what his teacher had done and why he was in so much pain… but he couldn't. So instead he firmly looked into his Uncles eyes and answered "no".

With a heavy sigh Chuck's irritation melted away and was replaced with sympathy. He reached out his hand brushed his fingers through Sonic's quills then cupped the side of his muzzle, a move the teenager appreciated as he held his Uncles hand and closed his eyes tiredly. Sadly Chuck sat down next to him again and pulled the boys head into his shoulder, keeping him held closely but avoiding his back. Sonic happily wrapped his arms around the older hedgehog's torso as he felt the warm hand playing with his quills. It was such a childish thing but it was a thing he never had when he was younger, now he was grateful for the comfort his Uncle gave him, just so long as it wasn't in public.

"Just promise me you'll tell me if anyone is" the older hedgehog sighed. A smile formed on the teenagers face as he buried his nose into his Uncles neck, "I promise" he mumbled.

Satisfied with the answer, Chuck gave him a small squeeze before pulling himself away. Sonic only watched as he picked up the medical box and used towel before heading towards the door. He had left for a few minutes but he still sat and waited, knowing his Uncle would be back. Surely enough, when everything had been put back in its place, Chuck came back into his bedroom with a hot water bottle and a cup of tea. Placing the drink on his side table, the elder hedgehog started to fluff and arrange the pillows on the bed so they would be more comfy; he then encouraged Sonic to lie down on his stomach constantly being careful of his back. Knowing a blanket would be too painful, he handed him the hot water bottle and waited until the teenager was comfy.

"Thanks Unc" he said before settling himself down. Even though it wasn't all that late, barely evening yet, he still felt completely shattered and just wanted to sleep. His mind hadn't been clear the moment he saw his friends at the mall, all he could think about was School…

The sun that shone through his windows suddenly went dark as he watched his Uncle close his curtains. It wasn't until Chuck looked at him with slight amusement that he realised he still had his shoes on, no wonder his feet felt heavy. Saving him from getting up Chuck undid the golden buckles and placed both shoes on the floor by his bed before picking up the many jackets the teenager brought and took them to the wardrobe.

"Uncle Chuck" Sonic's voice spoke quietly as he barely opened his eyes enough to watch the older hedgehog clean up his room around him. He only stopped for a moment so his nephew could carry on. "I don't want to go to School tomorrow" he admitted, truthfully it was what he had wanted to say for a while now but was nervous in doing so. Had it been any other time then his Uncle would have rambled on and on about how important School was and how he shouldn't miss a single class, but after today he got the idea that even his Uncle wasn't happy about him going in. With an understanding smile, Chuck carried on with his tidying, "Don't worry about it Sonny, I'll let them know tomorrow you're not feeling too good. Sides after that it's the weekend so you should be better for Monday I hope" he reassured.

Sonic simply nodded his head, glad that his Uncle could be understanding when he needed it. Than another thought hit him and he wasn't sure if he was pushing the limit or not, "Oh and umm… I told someone they could come over tomorrow after School."

The news came as a surprise as Chuck nearly dropped a video game controller on his foot that he was putting away. Luckily he caught it before turning to look at Sonic questionably, he only looked back innocently. "I thought you said you didn't feel well?" he asked accusingly while placing a hand on his hip and tapping his foot. "It's not to hang out, I got assigned to do a… Science project with him, and he's a fan of your work so I said it would be okay if he came over after School" he tried to explain, but his Uncle looked far from pleased as he carried on with the cleaning, "Sonic you know I don't like your friends coming over, they're not exactly nice kids" he pointed out thinking of the last time the red echidna boy had come over, and he was by far unimpressed with his selfish attitude and disrespect for their home. "No this is a new friend; he's only eight years old but got moved into my class for being a genius or something. I think you'll like him, he builds machines and he knows more about your work then I do" the blue hedgehog laughed. It seemed like he sold it well as his Uncle appeared to have second thoughts, "Well… okay but I want you to stay in the house."

"Okay deal" Sonic smiled, glad to be getting his own way. Resting his head once again, he felt he didn't have to fight sleep any longer. His Uncle was done with his room and quickly closed the door on his way out, leaving nothing but silence as everything faded to black.

* * *

"Where The Hell IS HE?" the loud roaring voice boomed out across the hall ways, all down the corridors and even through a couple of nearby classrooms. A red echidna paced the ground in front of his locker while his fists clenched in anger. His teeth were gritting while irritated mumbles passed through his seething lips. "Knuckles calm down!" Silver shouted feeling more annoyed at the red echidna then the blue hedgehog. He had watched the sixteen year old go up to nearly every student who walked passed and asked them if they had seen the blue rat but no one had, or was too afraid to ask. "Today is the big practise; this is the most important day until the game in two weeks! Why isn't he here yet!?" Knuckles spat, resisting the urge to punch his locker which Silver leaned against, "Look I don't know what's gotten into Blue lately but…"

"He ran out of School and kicked me in the stomach yesterday, and now he's skipping the most important day! What are we gonna do? Sonic's basically the only one who plays the game for us, everyone else sucks! We'll look like idiots! And to make it worse-" Not able to take much more Silver grabbed the echidna's shoulders and shook, "Stop it! You're getting on my nerves! Coach said we relied on him too much to win anyway so who cares?" he tried to reason, but Knuckles pushed him away, "I care! I have a lot riding on this game."

"Well it's easier for you. You're in goal, the rest of us have to keep up with Sonic and its hard keeping up with the only kid in high school who has super powers!" the white hedgehog snapped while folding his arms. As the tension between the two grew, Knuckles forgot it easily when a small fox walked by with two large tails flickering behind him. "You!" he spat before angrily marching towards the surprised kid, Silver following nervously behind ready to step in if needed. "What were you doing with Sonic yesterday?" the sixteen year old asked, making Tails break out in a terrified sweat, "U-um… I-I uh… W-we were just…" he struggled to speak under the rage filled glare the echidna gave him, it didn't help that patience was not something he possessed at that moment. "Well? Talk you little freak!"

"Knuckles!" a sharp voice cried out causing all three boys to turn their heads and stare at the young brown chipmunk that marched towards them, her friends not far behind her. "Sally" the echidna said flatly, hardly impressed with her being there, Silver on the other hand felt his stomach get into knots, girls were always scary to him, so seeing his best friends girlfriend angry at them was difficult.

The girl crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, "Why are you picking on a kid?" she demanded to know. A growl came from Knuckles as his anger flared up once again, "Here's a better question, why is your boyfriend ditching us for a two tailed nerd and skipping the one day we need him here!" he cried out. Sally felt her eyes drop sadly, not as confident as she felt before.

No one had noticed Tails take the chance to leave, his new light speed shoes making escaping a lot easier.

"I don't know what's gotten into him. After the whole Amy thing yesterday…" Sally had confessed sadly, only for Bunnie to throw her head back in annoyance, "Oh come on Sugar, are you still going on 'bout that?" she groaned. Sally turned to face her, "Hey excuse me for having sympathy but bottom line Sonic shouldn't have gone that far!" she made no attempt to defend her boyfriend this time as she normally did, this time he was on his own. "Yeah but so what, Amy is so annoying. She got what was coming to her!" Mina joined in, showing her clear dislike for the pink hedgehog. Shaking her head, Sally had to ignore them "Okay so aside from the fact he actually stood up to Amy, he started wearing that weird jacket thing and he looked really pale" she commented.

"You think that's weird? Yesterday after he had detention I saw him running out the School, he bumped into me and his eyes were red, it looked awful. Then when I was gonna ask him what was up he kicked me in the stomach! Then to make things worse we see him at the mall with freak geek and he bought him Light Speed shoes! Why the hell would he do that?" Knuckles burst out, taking everyone by surprise. Neither one felt they could explain it so they stood silent trying to think of what the possibility was.

"His eyes were red… was he crying?" Mina asked, only Knuckles suddenly froze now feeling worried he had said too much, "W-what no! Come on its still Sonic we're talking about. He doesn't cry, heck I don't think he feels" he laughed trying to be convincing. He may have been completely angry with the blue hedgehog but he wasn't about to let his reputation be brought down like that.

Sally didn't feel convinced; she didn't even feel sure if she wanted to discuss it anymore. Part of her was worried but another part felt like he got what he deserved. She hated feeling that way but the truth was yesterday, after seeing the way he treated Amy was an ugly eye opener for her. She knew he could be mean at times, but never thought he could be so nasty to someone who really liked him. She had too many unsure feelings, but she needed to make things right. "Look, I'll give Sonic a call later and see if he's okay, but I got to go. I'll catch you guys later" she said before adjusting her bag and walking away from the boys, her girlfriends looking at her questionably before following.

Knuckles raised his brow but didn't dwell on it for too long, "Fine, I'll ring him later and kick his butt then. Anyway, as I was saying freak-" the echidna turned back to where the small fox had once stood five minutes ago, only to see that nothing was there and Silver had placed his face in his palm.

Even though she had walked away from them, Sally still heard the agitated growl that echoed around as she turned the corner to see the last of the lockers. There were books in her arms stood a young pink hedgehog that closed the door to her locker and made to walk away. Before she got too far, Sally had chased her and grabbed a hold of the young girl's arm who cried from fright. "Ahh! Oh… it's you" Amy breathed heavily, relieved it wasn't a stranger looking to attack. Sally rubbed her arm bashfully, feeling she may be wasting her time. Mina and Bunnie stood by her sides and she hoped they'd let her do the talking. "Listen Amy, I just wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday with Sonic" as soon as she said his name she had expected the girl to either cry or scream much like Knuckles. What she never expected was the small smile that crept onto her face, "Oh yes that. There's no need to apologise for what he said" she said so graceful and calm that Sally was feeling nervous.

"Well I just… I feel awful about it. He can be such a jerk at times, I just hope you weren't too upset over it" she tried to explain without sounding patronising, which surprisingly was a lot harder then she thought. Yet Amy still smiled kindly and shook her head, "There's no need to feel bad, I should have known Sonic would act that way… It was my fault, I should have spoken to him in private about us, but when I saw him with you I just felt so used, I-"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Wait a minute, what do you mean us?" Sally interrupted, her brow furrowing in suspicion while Mina and Bunnie exchanged glances. Amy looked almost surprised by the girls ignorance, "Well, I thought he told you. He said you two had broken up, so when I saw you two together I just acted before thinking" the pink hedgehog watched as the red haired girl gasped in horror, her hands clasped over mouth while tears stung the brim of her eyes. "Well class starts now, I better go. Thanks for the apology!" Amy Rose smiled before quickly turning her heels and walking down the corridor, leaving the group of girls to comfort their friend and shout horrible things about the popular blue boy.

Just outside her first class Amy saw a white bat lean against the wall, a large sinister smile upon her face as she watched the pink girl walk up to her. "Well, how'd the Princess take it?" she asked with a bitter laugh, already enjoying herself. Amy couldn't help but allow the grin to appear on her face as she held back her own laughter, "Oh I think she took it pretty well."

* * *

**Oh ho the plot of Amy and Rouge thickens!**

**So things aren't looking good for Sonic now, but it can only get better right?... Oh wait I'm writing this, of course it can't. **

**If you guys enjoyed then please leave a review, I'm sorry for grammar errors, I'm seriously terrible for it (lack of hand being able to keep up with brain) but if you can read it without getting too confused then hey it's a victory for me. **

**Until next chapter!**


	6. The Project Idea

**Okay this chapter is a little short compared to the rest but I'm tired and even though I planned on adding more I thought it would work better if the next part was in a different chapter. So yes, at least I'm updating quickly... well quick for me anyway.**

**Again if there are any grammar mistakes, missed out words and whatnot I'm really sorry, I know they can be a butt to read but I'm wanting to go back over the past few chapters and sort them out soon, so hopefully all will be good.**

**Anyways another big thank you to all who reviewed, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)**

* * *

_Dude where the hell are u?_

_OMG I swear U get Ur butt here NOW!_

_Where was u 2day? Call me_

_Look out, Knux is angry with u =S_

_Has Sall text u yet? Think she's upset xoxo_

"I'll take that thank you."

"Hey!" Sonic cried out as his phone was snatched from his hand, just as he was about to read his other messages. He watched irritated as his Uncle began to look through the many texts he had, carefully reading each of them. "Looks like you were missed" he commented, though he hardly sounded pleased given the context of each message. "I have a lot of friends, what can I say?" Sonic scratched his head the side of his head nervously; he hated it so much when his Uncle read through his messages, or when he logged onto his online accounts just to keep an eye on him. He had no privacy anymore; it was a miracle he hadn't found out about his behaviour at School already. Many times he came close, luckily Sonic managed to cover up quickly.

When Chuck was done he kept the phone on him instead of giving it back, "Unc!" Sonic whined and extended his hand out, but the older hedgehog shook his head, "No, you're supposed to be ill, you don't need to be texting people."

With a loud groan Sonic threw himself back down onto the sofa, only to regret it when his back took the impact. Luckily it wasn't as bad now. He had slept a lot of it off, only once did he wake up yesterday only to see it was night time and it was a text that had woken him up, it was Espio asking to meet up but he ignored it. He knew what kind of group the chameleon hung around with and even he knew better then to go out with them, especially at night. When morning came he had woken up at the normal time he would to go to School, it felt strange to lay in bed knowing all his friends were up. His eyes had drifted to the window, from which he had the perfect view of the girl next door. For once she was the one to have the curtains closed, but he didn't blame her.

Sonic didn't think he'd of gotten out of bed if it wasn't for his new guest coming over. Looking at the clock, he read the time which was 3:55, wouldn't be long now until the kid was here. He hadn't been out of bed for that long, so his blue quills were messy and lazily put on one of his new jackets, the red one, even with that though he still looked tired and he was pretty sure he smelt bad as well as his beloved dog Muttski had jumped at him and licked his face repeatedly before Chuck came and pulled him down.

So now he just lay there on the sofa, ignoring his Uncle as the older man announced he would be in his lab and ignoring his dog that sniffed at his limp hand. All he did was stare at the celling, trying all he could not to fall asleep again. He kept wondering what he had missed that day to receive so many miss calls and texts.

Just when his eyes closed and he almost blacked out, a loud buzz rang from the door that echoed all around the room. Startled Sonic shot up and jumped off the sofa, his mind feeling dizzy from the sudden action. Gathering his thoughts he walked to the door and opened it.

Tails stood nervously by the wooden door frame, his eyes trailed all across the modern sized home. He was so scared, what if this was the wrong house? Or Sonic had all his friends over and were going to prank him? But no, he saw Sonic's friends at School, they didn't look happy.

"Okay Tails… It's no big deal. Just be cool and don't freak out" he whispered to himself to ease his nerves. When he pressed the door bell, he fought to stand still when the door slowly opened. He had expected a million things to happen, but didn't count on a giant dog leaping from the house and knocking him to the ground. With a fearful scream the fox tried to fight the scary dog off but was pinned to the ground. When he saw sharp razor fangs he cried out again thinking of the harm they would do, but to his shock felt no pain but drool fall to his face as the dog licked him wildly. Tails started to laugh while the dog's tail wagged wildly.

"Muttski! Get off!" he heard a familiar voice shout, then the dog was pulled away from him and Tails sat up, instantly rubbing his cheek. Looking up he saw Sonic holding the dog by his collar and looking at the pet angrily, "Bad dog, get in the house!" he added before the dog whimpered sadly but did as he was told.

Looking back at the fox, Sonic offered his hand "Sorry about that Tails, he gets excited" he laughed. Tails smiled lightly before taking his hand and allowing himself to be pulled up, "Don't worry Sonic, I-I like dogs… he's pretty big though" the fox laughed awkwardly. The blue hedgehog scoffed, "Yeah they don't get bigger them him."

They both stood there for a while, not talking and Tails started to worry it was off to a bad start already. But Sonic broke the tension when he looked down and saw what the kid was wearing. "How you enjoying the new shoes buddy?" he asked while leaning on the side of the door. Tails looked down to his new shoes, a large smile upon his face, "They're amazing! Everyone was complementing me today, even the really cool people!"

He could only beam when the memory ran through his mind.

_Walking past a group of senior students, they had stopped him for a moment, "Yo kid, those are some sweet shoes you got there" they had commented. The young fox felt so confident now._

_"Thanks… My new friend got them for me"_

"You coming in kid?" Snapping back to reality, Tails watched as Sonic walked into the house and waited for him to follow. The outside had looked like a normal regular house; inside it was like seeing the house of tomorrow. Everything was mechanic in one way or another and seemed to be running through complete technology. Even the most simplest of things like the house plants were made of metal and looked like they functioned somehow.

This was the house Tails always dreamed of.

"So… how was today?" Sonic asked trying to be casual as he sat down on the posh sofa's they owned. The whole living area was so modern and cool, a massive TV mounted on the wall, a small hologram fire that emitted from a classy fireplace. Why is this guy not geeking out? "This house is amazing!" Tails suddenly blurted out, taking Sonic by surprise, "Hehe, yeah it's pretty cool; my Unc likes to tinker with things…"

"Is he here?" again the fox cried, only to flush when he realised how desperate he sounded which only made Sonic look uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah he's here, but he's kinda busy now. We'll see him later okay?" he said awkwardly. Tails placed his hands behind his back and nodded.

"Come on sit down kid, how was School, did I miss much?" he asked again, trying to get the fox to relax. Tails sat next to the blue hedgehog and thought back, "Well I ran into Knuckles, he wasn't happy though" he mumbled, Sonic simply scoffed "Yeah so I heard, I had like seventy texts from him saying he was gonna kill me. Anything else?"

Tails thought for a moment, "We had the game practice today… ugh Coach isn't really happy either" he admitted. Sonic raised a brow, "Well yeah but it will be fine right? He's known I know what I'm doing" he tried to defend, but Tails shook his head, "Today was really bad, for once we couldn't rely on you making the goals so we all actually had to play the game" he said sadly. "How did it go?" the teenager asked, though the tense look on his face showed he already knew the answer "It was a disaster. I least I wasn't the only one who sucked though."

"Haha, see there's a plus to everything. Sides it's just the practice, I'll be back for the real game" Sonic smiled confidently, the eight year old started to feel more relaxed now, "Let's just hope so, because we're pretty bad" he laughed.

"Speaking of not failing, maybe we should have a look into that Science project now. What exactly do we need to do? Miss Fart Pants said she gave you the instructions" the blue hedgehog said while making himself more comfortable on the sofa by putting his feet up. Tails quickly picked up his bag and looked through it, "Here we go!" he announced as he pulled out their homework. He held the paper out so they could both read it. As they did so, Tails looked at it with complete understanding while Sonic looked at it in confusion, not able to get his head around it. Seeing this, the yellow fox smiled, "It's not that bad, we have to do research on an item of our choice and explain the Science behind it. This list is the different factors we need to cover and its shared credit which makes up 50% of our grade. Failing this project means we won't be able to make it up and we'd fail the year…"

"Resulting in being held back a year no doubt. No thank you! So what do you study?" the blue teen asked, starting to somewhat understand what they needed to do but not showing much of an interest. Unsurprisingly he had a strong dislike for Science at the moment. Tails rubbed his muzzle as he tried to think, but sadly nothing came to him, "I don't know, I've been thinking a lot about this but to cover all these factors we need something like a power source. We're not allowed to share ideas so I don't know what everyone else is doing" he explained. Sonic looked away, now it was his turn to think. He didn't want anything to do with his Science teacher now but the thought came to him… What if he did extremely well on this project, something extraordinary that she realised he wasn't as bad as she thought. Maybe then she'd have enough respect for him to at least leave him alone if not apologise for what she did.

A smile spread across his face as he clicked his fingers, "I know what we can use."

* * *

The room was filled with nothing but noise after noise. The slicing of the buzz saw on metal, the drills that whizzed around wildly and the loud rock music that was set to the highest volume it could go to. It was so loud that Chuck had failed to hear the door to his lab room open yet surprisingly he heard the loud excitable scream that shortly followed. With his ears twitching to the strange noise, he had thought one of his machines had a loose screw, but when stopping his work and lifting up his welding mask, the old hedgehog turned around to see his nephew stood by the looking embarrassed by the wide eyed child that stood next to him.

"Ohmygoshitsreallyyouicantbelieveititsreallyyou…!"

"Whoa whoa whoa calm down" Chuck beckoned while placing his hands in the air, the young fox spoke so fast and hyped up that it put Sonic to shame, he couldn't understand a word he said. "Sorry! Sorry Sir! I-I mean your Highness, Ugh I mean um… Your Ministerness?" the kid tried again, only to realise he was making a complete fool of himself as his face turned red and small beads of sweat fell from his brow.

Taking off his welding mask and grabbing a cloth to wipe his hands on, Chuck walked up to the young kids and exchanged a glance with his nephew who simply mouthed an apology, obviously not realising how bad the fox would be. Still, Chuck didn't want to be rude, "Don't worry kiddo, I don't have a title anymore. You can call me Chuck" he smiled.

"Chuck? I can call you Chuck? Really?" the child cried out happily, only to suddenly cough forcefully to calm himself down, "Ahem, I mean, it's nice to meet you… Chuck. I-I'm Tails" he shyly said while holding out his hand, which to his joy the old Scientist accepted, "It's nice to meet you" he smiled, though he didn't sound very convincing. He pulled away from the kids hand and walked back to his work bench. Tails was instantly fixated on his hand, holding it like it was something precious and valuable.

"Please tell me you'll still wash that hand"

Snapping from his thoughts, he looked up to see Chuck sitting in his chair while Sonic stood by his side laughing at his Uncles comment. Tails blushed once again before apologising and walking up to Sonic's side… and no he will never wash that hand again!

"Sorry sir, I'm just such a big fan, I've followed all your work! You've been the biggest inspiration to me, I even tried to copy a few of your inventions" Tails tried to defend himself. He was happy to see Chuck pick up a little as the older hedgehog smiled at him interestedly "Really? Any success?" he asked. "A couple, like the telecom where you figured out how to get past the no signal areas, I looked into it and saw it was all about the internal wiring. Again with the international translator, it's all to do with the Mic and how it picks up sound waves and…"

"Well this conversation got boring quickly" Sonic interrupted after he flopped himself down on the sky blue bean bag. It was an eye sore compared to the high tec look of his Uncles lab, but it was there for him if he wanted to give his Uncle some company. Now though Chuck wish he hadn't bothered, "Sonic don't be so rude. Tails is finally saying something interesting" he stated bluntly, ignoring the fifteen year old who rolled his eyes and the eight year old who looked embarrassed again. "Yeah great Unc but we actually came up for a reason, not just so you two can have a geek off" Sonic huffed. Tails worriedly watched, thinking the older hedgehog would get angry, had Tails back chatted his father like that he would have been in trouble, yet Chuck didn't do anything other than sigh. "Alright how can I help you kids?" he asked.

Snatching the paper out of Tails's hand, the blue teen handed it to his Uncle. Putting on his reading glasses, the older hedgehog looked through it with interest, "I see… looks like the best bet would be to use a power source-"

"That's what I said!" Tails cried out excitedly, only to quiet down when both hedgehogs's glared at him. Going back to the paper Chuck carried on, "Anyway, there are a lot of factors involved so it needs to be diverse. Do you have anything in mind?" he asked, but when his eyes darted over to the blue teen that stared at him with pleading eyes and a large smile he could already feel the headache come on. "No Sonic!" he said flatly.

"Oh come on Uncle Chuck, I need it to be great! I'm not good at Science, this might be the only way to pass" Sonic tried to argue, but the older hedgehog stood his ground. "Absolutely not! I'm not letting you take something that valuable to School, I'd never get it back" Chuck replied, crossing his arms firmly. He scowled when he saw the younger hedgehog jump up from his seat and jump onto him, his arms squeezing his old body which felt like it was crushing him. "Please! Come on Chuck please, I'll look after it I promise. I need to get a full mark, and Tails sucks at football, he needs to make up extra credit or else he'll fail, that's two fails on your head man!"

Tails watched the two hedgehogs with amusement. He had never seen Sonic so friendly with anyone before, seeing him with his Uncle was like seeing a completely different person. He guessed the whole King of the School bully thing was nothing more than an act.

It was fun to watch, the cheekier Sonic got the more his Uncle tried to hold back his own laughter at how childish the teenager was being. It didn't take long before the blue hedgehog called for Tails to join in and the two tailed fox couldn't resist. He ran to the man he idolised and just like his new friend he grabbed the old man and hugged him tightly and joined in with the relentless pleading.

It wasn't long for Chuck to feel his insanity to slip.

"Alright! Alright! You can use it, but I'm trusting you boys to look after it okay" the old man cried out before pushing the young boys off him and talking to them sternly. "Thank you Mr. Hedgehog!" Tails chimed as Sonic smiled widely, "Aw yeah, you rule Unc!"

"I'll get it out so you two can begin your research" with that said, Chuck got up out of his chair and made his way to a small safe that was surrounded with an extreme security defence system. Pushing a button, a small touch screen board appeared on the wall and he got to work.

Sonic and Tails sat on the floor and waited, the fox was watching the Scientist at work until he felt a small hit on his arm. Looking up he saw Sonic was smiling, "Dude do you even know what it was you were begging for?" he laughed, Tails rubbed his head shyly, "Actually no… I just wanted to join in."

"Here you go boys!" Chuck announced as he walked up to the boys. In his hands he held a small metal box that had the Golden Acorn cress stamped upon the lock. They watched as he carefully placed the box in front of them as if it would fall apart at the slightest touch. "I'll leave you kids to get on; I've got some work to do so I'll be in my office if you need me. You can use the lab computer if you need to. Do either of you want a drink?" he kindly offered.

Tails looked at Sonic hoping he was answer first, but he was too intrigued with the box as he traced his finger across the golden band that held it together, slowly following the detailed patterns that created the value of its look. "Can I have hot chocolate? Not the cruddy one, the one I like" he eventually answered, only Chucked frowned, "We don't have any in, you drank it all the other day" he replied, "Oh… Will you go to the store and get some then?"

Tails raised his brow, taken aback by the request. What surprised him more was that his Uncle didn't seemed phased by it, "Sonic I'd have to make a trip down town" he reasoned, but Sonic looked like he didn't really care, "Please?" he stated as if it made all the difference. Which to the two tailed fox surprise, it did. Chuck sighed again before shaking his head, "Fine. I'll take the dog with me" he gave in before turning to face the eight year old, "What about you?"

"Oh… I'll just have what Sonic's having" Tails answered to which Chuck smiled before leaving the room. Truthfully Tails didn't actually like hot chocolate, but he felt too awkward to say anything else. The recent event bugged him, but he tried to take his mind off it by turning back to the box.

"So what's inside?" he asked curiously looking at the royal box. He reached his hand out to touch it but Sonic slapped it away. "Don't touch, this costs more than your life kid" he said, his eyes never looking away.

With butterflies in his stomach Tails watched as Sonic's hand gripped on both sides firmly. Using his thumbs he flipped both of the catches on each side, then slowly as the eagerness grew between them, he lifted the lid.

A bright light blinded both of them as it instantly dazzled. The light in the room flickered on and off while a couple of the machines started to turn whirl around and activate themselves. Luckily everything was secure, so Sonic was calm unlike Tails who panicked.

But then it was never a good idea to reveal a Chaos Emerald in a room full of machinery.

* * *

**My My My! With a chaos emerald in the mix things can only go well... right?**

**Please review and then you'll find out ;)**


	7. Facing School

**Whoa uplode :D**

**So this one has a few answers I believe but also raises a few more questions dun dun duuuun.**

**I will apologise for any spelling/grammar or miss words that are in this chapter, I don't know what it is with me I'm terrible for it. Hopefully I'll get it sorted out soon enough though.**

**Also a reply to anthonysea; Yup I changed the summery and the reason for that was becasue I've now got the story figured out how I want it to go but I felt the summery didn't really reflect it that well, like it wasn't saying what the main focus was, so I changed it. Also if you go back to my first chapter I've changed that a little bit too, not drastically but enough to get readers attention :)**

**Also thank you for the review and thank you to everyone else, I'm just so glad you guys are enjoying it and I hope you'll stick it out to the end, heck maybe I will as well lol.**

**Just a note you may have figured it out but the new look Amy has is based of Sonic Boom Amy, this doesn't mean I'm setting this story in that world but I'm trying to bring in elements from all the Sonic universes just because I can :P**

**Anyway on to the story and I hope you guys enjoy.**

* * *

There was no point in going back to sleep now, he really didn't want to. The blue hedgehog sat up in his bed with his knees drawn to his chest. He held his arms tightly around himself and ignored the sweat that drenched his mattress, his covers and himself. His eyes stared wide at the bottom of the bed, unable to focus them on anything else; he kept rocking back and forth while his chest rose and fell from his unstable breathing. "It was just a dream… just a dream" he whispered franticly. His Uncle hadn't heard him, or so he hoped, so now he was the only one to comfort himself. He rubbed his own arms, bringing his hands to his tender shoulders and squeezing them. "Just a dream" he whispered again, burying his head into his knees, he continued to rock himself.

"… Just a dream."

* * *

He hadn't known what to expect on Monday, he knew a few people would be annoyed with him, but he wasn't really sure why. It didn't worry him too much; he was the top guy so anyone who challenged him was going down… so long as they waited until his back didn't feel as sore. Still, whatever that was to come he could handle it, though he was dreading Science.

Walking to the School grounds, he already saw Knuckles by the School gates waiting for him, he was with Silver and Jet, though they were entertaining themselves by picking on another student who walked by, the Drama King Antoine, they were laughing as he tried to give them a speech about how they were Fe-ul's or something like that, Knuckles hadn't even noticed as he glared at the blue teen who slowly walked up to them.

"What did I do now?" Sonic laughed when approaching his friends. Silver and Jet ignored the pompous student and turned to the confused hedgehog, though the worried look they gave him while their eyes drifted to the red echidna told Sonic all he needed to know.

Knuckles growled and advanced on him, making sure he looked as angry as he felt, "What is going on?" he demanded lowly, his hands gripping into fists that he held up threateningly. Sonic raised his hands also but only to calm things down, "Whoa come on Knux, what's the big deal? Look I get I missed the practice but I was sick, what do you want me to do-"

"That's not the problem and you know it!" he snapped back, his anger flaring to the point where he punched the wall he stood next to. Silver and Jet carefully back up, not wanting to be close if things got out of hand. Biting his lip, Sonic thought back to before the weekend, he knew why Knuckles was mad but what could he say?

So again he lied.

"Are you talking about me kicking you in the stomach or hanging out with Tails?" he sneered, knowing it would strike a nerve in the echidna, but he had to be casual, "Both you blue jerk!" A small smile formed on the hedgehog's lips, which earned him nothing more than a raised brow, "Dude you're completely over thinking this. Look on Friday after I did detention I ran into Tails, he had some baby power on his, lame right? Anyway, I tripped and it went in my face. I was trying to run to the bathroom but I couldn't see anything, when you grabbed me I just wanted to get away and wash my face, so I took the drastic action and kicked you. Sorry pal"

Knuckles thought for a moment, he stopped feeling as angry now and his hands slowly uncurled, "Hmm… its cool" he smiled, now feeling there was no need to hold a grudge.

"What about Tails at the mall?"

Okay now there was a reason to hold a grudge, Sonic shot a threatening look at the white hedgehog that looked down realising he was better off quiet.

"Yeah, what about that Sonic?"

The blue teen tensed, how could he lie out of this one? Was there any way he could use the truth to his advantage? What was the truth though; he didn't know what he was doing himself. His friends were waiting, now was a time for a miracle, he would open his mouth and prey something clever comes out.

"I adopted him"

"You what?" Jet snorted, Silver and Knuckles seemingly froze not having expecting that explanation. Sonic felt his cheeks go red; normally he was good at lying so what the heck was that? No going back, have to roll with it.

"Yeah… I thought it would be cool for the Science project you know, the study of turning nerds into Way Past Cool type kids. I'm gonna make him one of us, and it will prove it doesn't matter what you do, you're only ever gonna be popular if we want you too" he said so unsurely that he felt ridiculous. He waited in an awkward silence, but then suddenly his friends erupted in a fit of laughter, almost falling over themselves as they clutched their sides. Sonic tried to laugh along but found it too hard, he didn't know if they were laughing with him or at him.

"Oh my gosh dude that is epic! Mrs. Winter's gonna flip when you do your presentation!" Knuckles cried out while wiping the tears from the brim of his eyes. A large hand slapped Sonic's back which caused him to flinch, but he didn't make a sound. "Boy she hates you now, but imagine what she's gonna do when she sees that. You got to tell her today, I'm begging you" Silver laughed along. Sonic suddenly felt his stomach turn, they were right today in class they had to tell the teacher what the study was all about… what was he going to do?

* * *

The morning had already gone past and Sonic felt like he had been here for hours. He stood by his locker ignoring everyone around him. Luckily due to his reputation people didn't knock him down or bother his as they walked past, they gave him all the room he wanted. His friends had finally let him be, having already gone to their next class. He needed to get his book though. He had placed his math book back in the locker where it belonged, all he needed was to get out his Science book, but it looked to heavy now.

He stared at that book, never blinking and never letting sound disturb his thoughts. At one time it never bothered him but now it felt like he was staring at a book of nightmares. All he could think about was his dream, it was her. He was in water, always water and he never knew why, but she was the one who held him down this time… not Shadow.

Placing a hand to his face, he shook himself back to reality. He couldn't think like that, he needed to look strong and forceful. Tails almost blew his cover at first lesson, the kid had ran to him excitedly and for once Sonic didn't have the will to put him down, so he made it known to everyone that Tails was his protégé. It confused a lot of people, but most found it to be amusing, after all he was Sonic the Hedgehog he could do what he wanted.

Tails had been more confused than anyone else but the kid went with it, and in return for keeping quiet about what had happened, Sonic made sure no one was picking on him anymore. A few had tried without realising it was him standing next to the two tailed nerd, and no more than a few seconds later they were at the nurses office with Light Speed shoe imprints on their faces. It was a fair deal he felt, Sonic kept his rep and Tails got protected.

That wasn't all his problems ticked off his list though, he hadn't seen Sally all morning and it worried him. He tried to call her but she hung up. Why was she avoiding him? When he asked his friends none of them knew why and when he asked Sally's friends they ignored him and walked away. Something was up and he knew it. He needed to talk to her at lunch… because right now he had hell to deal with.

Grabbing his book, Sonic slammed his locker door and left.

* * *

"I have given you the whole weekend to research and look up what to use for your presentation in three weeks' time. As a courtesy reminder let's go over the nine factors that you are to cover…"

The moment Sonic had walked through the door he felt scared, yet his teacher never so much as looked at him. When taking names to make sure everyone was there she had called out his and he answered as normal, her voice had been calm and clear while he could hardly talk. Even though he sat next to Tails, his friends had moved next to him again which caused him to cringe, feeling the sense of de ja vu, they kept asking him what the problem was, why he wasn't trying to tick off his teacher, why he didn't put his feet up, why he wasn't making a scene and disrupting the lesson? With every question it was the same response, he told them to shut up before staring back at his desk, his finders playing with the trim of his red hoodie. It seemed so quiet and strange; several times the teacher had said something that just begged for an inappropriate response, she even looked at him and waited… she was challenging him! Making sure he had truly learn his lesson. He was so out of character that even Tails had nudged his arm to make sure he was okay. A smile and thumbs up was all he could give.

"Who would like to start us off hmm? Remember I want individual answers, and I hope no one has been stealing ideas! Once you give me your answer it goes into your work book and there is no changing your mind, so I hope you made sure the research will be possible and accurate" Mrs. Winters voice rang out as she sat herself down on her desk. If Sonic's behaviour hadn't of been noticeable than she certainly had been. Today the black tabby cat looked different, she was wearing a little more makeup and her hair wasn't in its classic bun but left to fall down her back. Her long flower pelted skirt had been swapped for a shorter black pencil skirt; she was actually showing off a nice pair of legs. Many concluded the picture had gotten to her, but Sonic just didn't know.

A hand reached over and tapped his arm, just like last time. Looking to the side he saw Knuckles grin at him, "Go on, tell her what your project is" he whispered while trying to hold back his laughter. Sonic stared at him with wide eyes, "No! Just shut up" he spat, but they weren't backing down. "Come on it will be so funny" Silver joined in, but Sonic shook his head, "Sonic why are you being such a looser?"

Oh no…

"Yeah bro, stop being such a freak!"

No… It was happening again, he couldn't… he couldn't do it… he could never go back…

His hand shook but he raised it into the air high enough to be seen by everyone in the whole classroom. The students were already smiling, each one excited to see what he was going to say, the teacher however breathed deeply. Now was the moment to see if her discipline had worked.

"Sonic, are you going to tell me what your project is or do I need to fill in another detention form again?" Mrs. Winters said, her eyes locking with his and her face showing no emotion what so ever. Yet Sonic could feel exactly what she was thinking, she was daring him to make bad move, give her another chance to make him feel week behind closed doors… but not anymore. He was not going to be made to feel like he had all those years ago by anyone ever again. Now was the time to show her where he stood, on the top and in control. So with the smile, the smile she hated more than anything in the world, he looked at her with glee, "Yeah I'll tell you my project, I was working on the theory of nerds and how easy it is to make them cool. I tried it with Tails but I wanted more of a challenge, so make my project How to turn pathetic old ladies into something doable, I'd ask you to help me out but I guess you're working on it yourself."

The book the teacher held in her hand snapped shut as the class room filled with laughter. Her teeth gritted together, once again she was humiliated as the students pointed and howled at his comments. She glared at the blue hedgehog, he high fived all his friends, the ones who had pushed him to answer. She wasn't dumb; she could hear them push him but she wanted to see him respond. Now she knew though… his friends were his trigger points.

"Aha ha ha! How very amusing of you Sonic" she stated bluntly, yet loud enough so silence everyone in the class room, "I'm sure everyone enjoyed your little joke there" her voice grew deeper and yet there was a trace of a smile creeping onto her face. Sonic stared at her remorsefully, he shouldn't have done it. He didn't know what she was going to do but he made a mistake and he was going to pay for it. "I'm getting detention again aren't I?" he spoke up, trying to sound like he was just joking around and didn't care about such things, but he was petrified.

Surprisingly she shook her head "No, no detention this time. After all it's such a complicated project you'll need as much time to work on it as you possibly can get… Especially as the presentation will now be held tomorrow instead."

The whole atmosphere in the class was quiet and tense, each student looking in horror at her sudden announcement. Sonic's mouth hung open as he felt completely gobsmacked by her unfairness.

"And you can all thank your friend Sonic for it!"

It didn't take him long to know what was going to happen. He felt his hands sweat in their gloves while his face flushed alarmingly. He didn't look but he already knew everyone was staring at him, each student angry and frustrated. "Thanks a lot you moron!" "I'm studying the elements now what the hell am I going to do?" "Why can't you keep your mouth shut you idiot?!" "What the hell is wrong with you?"

* * *

The double doors burst open and the blue teenager stormed his way towards the lunch hall, his friends were not far behind and Tails stood a little by his side. "How could you make me do that you idiots?!" he cried out angrily, refusing to look back and pushing aside anyone who was in his way. Even though Silver felt a bit guilty they had bigger worries, like getting their own projects finished in time, "We thought it would be funny, besides we didn't make you do anything" he tried to defend. "Oh oh so calling me a freak is just your way of saying do what you like?" Sonic snapped back sarcastically, "I told you to shut up and thanks to you guys everyone hates me!"

Knuckled rolled his eyes as he rummaged through his back to bring out his note books, he hadn't been too concerned about Sonic's outrage as he had his project to work on as well with Silver, "Come Blue who cares? We got bigger things to worry about now" he growled. Sonic shook his head but calmed down, "Okay you're right, come one Tails, you got your computer thing?"

Tails went to his bag and brought out his handy tablet, something he made himself, and smiled at the blue teen. "Good, we'll do some research at lunch than you come over to mine straight after School and finish off than."

A wide grin formed on the foxes face, even though everyone else was panicking all he could do was be happy that Sonic wanted to hang out with him again. Until Knuckles cut in "Whoa wait no! Dude we got football practice after School remember? You missed Friday you know Coach won't be happy" the echidna pointed out.

Sonic ran his fingers through his quills as the stress of the situation was starting to get to him, "Agh! I forgot about that!" he moaned, he looked down at the young fox who frowned in return, "Me and Tails can't make it we have too much to do" he admitted, trying to think of a way around it. Silver pushed his hand out and nudged him to get his attention, "Nobody cares if Tails is there or not, we need you!" he snapped not even caring that the eight year old looked away sadly.

Making up his mind Sonic smiled nervously, "No I can't guys I'm already in enough trouble with Mrs. Winter… Look I'll talk to Coach and it will be fine. I'll be there for the game" he assured them. Looking at each other the white hedgehog and red echidna sighed, "You better be" was all Knuckles said before they pushed past and walked into the lunch hall. Sonic looked down at the two tailed fox and saw he was still feeling upset over what had been said. Placing a hand on his shoulder Tails looked up to see Sonic smiling, "Come on pal, see whose laughing tomorrow when we show them up with a Chaos Emerald" he whispered happily. Tails laughed feeling a lot better about himself before the two made their way into the lunch hall and sat down.

It was so strange, Tails had walked past his usual table, the nerd table, and watched as his fellow geeks had stopped discussing video game characters fighting to stare at him. They weren't exactly his friends but they always sat together at lunch and talked Science and machinery, and now they were seeing him with Sonic the Hedgehog, walking to the popular table and sitting with the coolest guys in the School... there was even girls who sat on that table! On a normal day he would have felt guilty, but before the weekend when he had sat with them they judged him for wearing his Light Speed shoes, accusing him of trying to fit in. To make it worse no one believed that they were a gift from Sonic either. Well who's laughing now?

It crossed his mind that Amy wasn't at that table either, she was the only girl who sat with them but not many of the guys were interested in talking with her; all they would hear is how amazing Sonic was. Come to think of it she wasn't there Friday either. He might have pondered on it more but Sonic was pushing him to log onto his tablet, the hedgehog himself had gotten out a note pad and was starting the write notes from what they found out before. It was a strange sight, the normally cool popular table where everyone laughed and shouted was now sitting in silence and doing homework as they all had something to work on. Tails started to feel in his element.

"What you guys working on?" Sonic asked across the table, Knuckles looked up from the phone him and Silver were sharing and scratched his thick head with his pencil, "We're supposed to be looking into this thing called Psychokinesis, it's like an old power or something so we're gonna see how to use it." Even though he was half way through his research, Tails looked up in amazement "Really? That's such a complex ability, however it's possible using the right materials, you could wire it through gloves and shoes so long as you have the right power source behind it… how about a power crystal?"

"Dude shut up! Stop giving them ideas!" Sonic cried while elbowing the fox in his arm painfully, "Ouch, sorry I was just trying to help" he mumbled, "Yeah help us not them, we don't want them doing better than us" the blue teen laughed, making Tails realise he had only been joking. "No no its cool Sonic let the kid speak. You were saying about a crystal of some kind…" Silver grinned which only caused Sonic to kick him under the table, "Hey no talking to my protégé! He's not ready yet" he said while placing his large hand over Tails's face which covered it and made the small fox try to fight him off. It all ended in laughter and for once Tails was laughing with them.

"What's so funny boys?"

They all paused for a moment when hearing the all too familiar voice ring out. Sonic growled under his breath, no longer finding any amusement in this anymore, but Knuckles and Silver had been the first ones to look at the young girl that stood at the end of their table, and the gawking stares they gave her told Sonic that something was different.

Turning his head sideways, he mimicked the expressions all his friends gave her when he saw her for the first time since that day. What he normally saw was a pink hedgehog wearing a frumpy red dress and big boots, a young girl with a massive crush… but now he was seeing a woman.

The pink girl had swapped her ballerina type dress for something slimming, a short red dress with a Chinese style top. She had on purple stockings and pink trainers that showed off her slim legs and instead of wearing normal gloves with golden cuffs she had purple sports tape wrapped on her wrists and golden bracelets that hung loosely. She was actually wearing makeup this time as her eyes seemed darker and more seductive, and she was defiantly wearing pink lip gloss.

Sonic had never seen her like this in his entire life! He didn't even think this kind of transformation was even possible. She had made herself look so much older and more attractive that he could actually feel a blush form on his cheeks. Was this all because of what he said to her?

Amy took her time and looked at each of the boys, none of them had stopped staring at her and she couldn't help but smirk, "If you wait a little longer you'll catch flies" she laughed, making them snap out of their trance.

Watching her giggle to herself, Sonic shook his head and cleared his throat with a cough, his face still felt too warm for his liking, "U-uh Amy… W-what are you doing here?" he managed to say, but mentally cursed himself for stuttering. "I just came to see Tails, the guys were wondering why you weren't sitting with them today" she answered so sweetly, like nothing had ever happened the last time she saw the blue speed demon. All eyes were now on Tails as the two tailed fox felt crushed from the sudden attention, "Oh um, me and Sonic have a project to work on, it's due tomorrow so…" he trailed off.

Once again Amy just smiled sweetly at him, completely ignoring Sonic which for some reason made the blue teenager feel a little jealous. "Right that's okay I'll go back and tell them. I think they were a little scared to come and ask themselves, leave it to a girl right?" she laughed, a few of the guys agreeing and laughing with her, now suddenly enjoying her company.

"So what are you guys working on anyway?" she asked, leaning down to look Tails's tablet, which caused her to bend past Sonic where he caught a nice view of her unbuttoned top, instantly he blushed more and pushed her up, "We're doing research on Chaos Emeralds and how the power works" he quickly answered before anyone else could. Tails raised his hands into the air questionably, "You said we weren't telling people" he complained, but Sonic reached out his hand and pushed his head away, all the while never breaking the eye contact he had with the pink girl. "Really? That sounds amazing. The Chaos Emeralds have so much history behind them. What have you got so far?"

"Not much really, not many people know anything about them so there's not much to go on, and the project is due tomorrow" the blue teen complained, strangely feeling relaxed around the new Amy, "If it helps I have a book on Legendary Gems, it's got an article on the Chaos Emeralds. If you like I could bring it over and help you work on the project" she offered.

Knuckles and Silver looked at each other trying to hold back laughter, classic Amy always trying to wiggle her way into Sonic's life, and just on cue as they both expected…

"Yeah sure, I'll be in after School"

"Say What?!" they both cried out in unison. Sonic sat with a goofy grin on his face while Amy smiled widely, "Great I'll see you then" she finished before walking away. It escaped no one's attention that the blue teen was watching her walk away and taking notice of how her hips swayed side to side.

Not understanding what had just happened, Silver clicked his fingers until Sonic snapped his head back to his friends, "Huh wha?" he mumbled while coming out of his daze. "Uh hello, are you forgetting about Sally or something?" the white hedgehog cried, not happy by the other's behaviour. Sonic stared at the two guys for a second before forcefully laughing, "Oh please do you seriously think I'm going to give up Sally for Rosy the Stalker? Seriously what do you take me for" he chuckled, but no one was laughing with him. This time the hedgehog and echidna exchanged looks once again before turning back to the blue blur sceptically, "We never said that, you did."

Sonic stopped laughing and just stared at them… what did they mean by that?

* * *

**My oh my, is my Sonic/Amy setting finally coming into play? Or is it just a mean trick I'm playing on all SonAmy fans as I'm horrid like that?**

**Still, Sonic's taking a Chaos Emerald to School tomorrow, that can only end well right?...**

**Please leave a review to get me off my lazy bum to write the next chapter :)**

**Till next time xx**


	8. Homework

**Hey my lovely peoples. First of all, whoa! I was not expecting so many reviews for my last chapter. Thank you guys so much!**

**I had mostly positive for SonAmy, a couple of negatives but in all fairness I did put these two as a pairing from the very beggining. Still this chapter will probably leave you on the edges of your seats ^^**

**But yes, thank you so much for the reviews, please keep them coming as they are the cookies to my cookie monster. Also again sorry for any miss wording and whatnot, my brain no function properly when writing.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and it's a long one ;)**

* * *

Running into the modern home and kicking off their shoes, the hedgehog and fox wasted no time with their work. Hearing the loud music and machinery working nearby told Sonic that his Uncle was in his lab, meaning instead of stopping to see him the boys went to his room and got out all the books they could find from the library. Lying on his bed, Sonic held the note pad against his chest and tapped it rapidly with the pencil he held. Tails was sat cross legged on the floor while searching through the books, unfortunately none of them seemed to be helping a lot.

"Anything yet?" the blue teen questioned, only the fox sighed in disappointment, "They talk about what the Chaos emeralds have been used for, also how they're linked to the Master Emerald, but nothing about how the power works" he explained sadly, "We need to look at the emerald again." But Sonic shook his head, "Can't, my Uncles working on his new machine, the other day after you left he told me off for disturbing him while he's busy" he explained. Pulling up his note pad, he skimmed through it quickly before pushing himself up and getting off the bed, sitting himself down next to Tails instead. "Okay so we have nine factors to cover, so far we've got two. We need to see how it powers things…" he started before Tails finished, "And we need to see how the components responds with what lasting effects. Hmm, we've covered the basic two such as power level; Unlimited, and quantity; seven, but it's just finding out how they work. What's the book that Amy's supposed to be bringing over?" he asked. Sonic opened his mouth ready to answer, but was cut short by the sound of the door bell ringing. "Hold that thought" he said before speeding out of the room.

Finding himself alone in Sonic's room and unsure of how much time he had to wait, Tails dropped everything and ran to the desk that was by the wall under the window. There were a couple of notebooks around, pieces of paper with drawings all over them and empty cans of energy drinks. On the side board next to his computer a couple of pictures were pinned up of him and his friends, a photo booth slip with him and Sally making silly faces and old letters that might have been important at the time. None of those was what he was looking for. Acting quickly Tails moved some of the papers out of the way, looking through them before placing everything back carefully as it was. He pulled out the draws, only finding wires and old keepsakes that had been thrown there and forgotten about. So he opened the small trunk that underneath the desk in front of the chair and started looking through. He was a little surprised to see that inside that trunk was some old toys, a couple of stuffed animals and a few sports things like footballs and tennis rackets, but among it all he found what he was after, hiding away carelessly.

Only he didn't have time to take it as he heard the footsteps echo along the hallway and light chattering just outside of the bedroom. Slamming the trunk lid shut, Tails stood up as fast as he could and made sure nothing looked out of place. He turned around to go back to his spot, but found Sonic and Amy standing in the doorway staring at him, Sonic looking suspicious, "What are you doing?" he asked firmly, not happy by his privacy being invaded. Tails felt heart rush to his face as he tried to think of an explanation, "S-sorry, I was just looking around" he mumbled, preying he didn't sound as guilty as he felt.

Sonic looked at him uncertainly, he wasn't sure about the situation but decided to let it go for now, they had work to do. Turning back to the younger pink hedgehog he stretched his arm out to signal her to go in. When she did so he was about to close the door, only to remember the classic rule every parent had, so he left it open half way.

"Hey Tails" Amy greeted before sitting herself down next to the pile of books and notepads, assuming that was where they had been working. Tails greeted her in return before he and Sonic sit down with her, forming a small circle around their work. "Okay so what have we got Amy?" the blue teen asked, getting the work started again. Amy smiled before pulling out an old book from her bag and placing it on the ground. The boys looked at it in awe; it was a large heavy book with leather backing while the front of it had engraved writing that was decorated with inexpensive gems.

"Whoa!" Tails explained, seeing such an amazing book, "Where did you get this?"

Amy looked at the blue hedgehog and momently watched as his fingers brushed along the strange writing and red jewels, completely entranced by them. "Umm, a… friend gave it to me" she answered, hoping it would be good enough. Reaching out she opened the large book and the boys watched in wonder as she flicked through the pages, and noticing all the different power gems that were listed and noticing the large articles written about them and the illustrations that followed. She eventually stopped on the page and all three stared at the drawing of the Chaos emerald that was centre to the whole page. "Here we go, if you don't find something in here then nothing will do" Amy exclaimed proudly. Sonic turned the book towards himself so he and Amy could read it better, Tails however had trouble seeing it, "This is incredible, it has everything" he laughed excitedly, feeling like he had hit the jackpot. "Does it have the information that we need to cover?" Tails asked, trying to lean over to look at it. Being a quick reader, Sonic skimmed over it, flicking the pages quickly, "It covers most of it but doesn't have anything about being useful for us today. We need to make it a presentation and demonstrate how it works… This covers about half our project" he answered morosely, not as excited anymore as he realised it wasn't going to be as easy as he hoped.

Tails placed a hand to his chin and thought for a moment, "Well… we have seven factors to complete. You take the ones about history, how it works etc. and I'll log on to the computer and search up what the emeralds have been used for recently, then I can work out how it was used and how we can use it for tomorrow" he suggested. The blue teen smiled, feeling happy with that idea.

Amy adjusted the way she sat and folded her hands in her lap, "Won't you guys need a Chaos emerald though if it's what you're presenting? They're not exactly easy to come by" she questioned. An arrogant grin appeared on Sonic's face as he leaned back and place his hands on the back of his head, "Maybe for normal people, but I got it covered" he boasted, though Amy didn't seem to understand. "Sonic's uncle was given a Chaos emerald for his services to the kingdom" the young fox explained. The pink hedgehog's eyes instantly widened, "Really? You mean you actually have a Chaos emerald in this very house?" she shouted excitedly, "Can I see it?"

"Sorry Amy, but my uncle's working, we'll have to wait till he's done" was her answer. She felt disappointed but didn't push the matter. So instead Sonic clapped his hands together, "Right let's get started, you wanna use the computer Tails?" he asked the eight year old. Tails nodded, he waited for the hedgehog to get up and lead him to his desk area, but the blue teen was staying put, too busy reading the ancient book. It felt rude to just help himself but it looked like Sonic didn't mind, so the fox went up to the computer and made himself comfortable before switching the computer on.

Amy looked between the two boys, Tails was at the computer and Sonic was already making notes in his book, she felt awkward feeling like she had no place here, and yet her heart was racing, she was in Sonic's room sitting right next to him! Dream come true right?... but it wasn't, not anymore.

"So… is there anything I can do to help?" she suddenly asked, trying to distract her thoughts away and keep herself focused on why she was here. Sonic looked up from the book and looked at her cautiously. The truth was he had been worrying about her coming over to his house ever since it suddenly dawned on him that he had actually invited her over. This was after all Rosy the Stalker, the girl who followed him around, tried several times to kiss him in front of everyone and sat herself at his table when no one had asked her to join. Even though she was always a pain, he had to admit she was acting like a different person today, she looked beautiful and she was being cool. He felt the same way he did when he met Sally for the first time. But deep down he knew why she was being this way; it was all because of what he said to her, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed about it. He had snapped and she took the blame, but he couldn't bring himself to talk about it. Because deep down he's always had a soft spot for her no matter how much he denied it.

Scratching his head a little, Sonic had initially thought about asking her to leave and let him and Tails get on, but his guilt was telling him to ask her to stay in hopes of making things up to her, "If you can help me work through this that would be great" he said. A forceful smile appeared on the pink girls face, and she scooted a bit closer to get a better view of the book.

"Hey Sonic what's your password?" Tails called out, distracting the two hedgehogs. Looking up Sonic saw that he was trying to get onto the internet but it was blocked and required log in details before the web could be accessed, to which Tails was looking at strangely not having known that a password could have been needed to get onto the internet. "I don't know what it is" he shrugged, causing the child to pause in confusion, "You don't know the password to your own account?" he questioned, not understanding the logic behind it. Even Amy seemed confused.

Now feeling self-conscious about the matter, Sonic hesitated before explaining, "My Uncle doesn't like me going on the computer, so whenever I want to go on I have to get the new password from him. He changes it like after every time I go online so I can't just go on whenever I feel like it. Half the time I wonder why I even have a computer."

"Doesn't that get annoying?" Amy asked, but Sonic looked away, not wanting them to think it was a big deal, "Well no, I mean I don't really go online much anyway" he defended, but he saw Amy and Tails share a look with each other which unnerved him. "That's so stupid, why would he do tha-"

"But aren't you on SpaceBook and sites like that?" Amy quickly interrupted, knowing Sonic wouldn't be happy with what Tails was saying. "Well yeah but I'm mostly on there to make sure no one says anything about me" he clarified, everyone often thought he was on there all the time due to being connected to nearly everyone in the School, and because of this it was rare to see anyone say anything bad about him. However Amy and Tails still didn't look convinced much to the fast teen's annoyance, "Look it doesn't matter okay; my Uncle just wants to make sure I'm not getting into trouble, man it's not like I have no freedom! Besides it's only because of what happened with that stupid chick last year!" he snapped, taking the two by surprise. Sonic could feel his anger slowly rising, so he pushed himself up off the ground and walked out of the room, Tails and Amy flinching when he slammed the door. "I'll get the damn book!" they heard him shout from the hall way, assuring them he had actually left for a purpose.

With it now being the two left by themselves, silence filled the room. Tails scratched his head while smiling at the pink hedgehog who smiled back awkwardly. His eyes slowly drifted to the trunk that was next to his feet, but knew he couldn't do anything about it with having company, so instead he distracted himself, "W-what do you suppose he was talking about? With the girl last year?" he asked curiously. Amy paused for a moment, her eyes wondered to the door as if to check no one was there before turning back to the young fox, "You know about Sonic and Rouge right?" she started, the fox nodding, "Well it was when they were dating, Sonic was fourteen then and Rouge had just turned sixteen. They had been dating for a while before but when Rouge got older, I think the girl was one of her friends; she started saying things about Sonic on SpaceBook. A lot of rumours were going around about the two and it put Rouge in a bad light. So instead this girl put online that Sonic was forcing Rouge to be with him to make himself look good and tagged every girl in the School to stay away from him. As soon as that got out, it went around the whole School to the point the teachers had to get involved. I don't know what happened but a little after that Sonic uploaded a picture of this girl and wrote Fatty wanting Attention. He somehow managed to get the entire School against this girl and everyone made fun of her for being overweight."

Tails stared at the pink hedgehog, his eyes wide and his mouth opened, "You're kidding me! What happened to her?" he gasped. "She had to change School's" she said sadly, as if it was suddenly dawning on her how bad the situation had been, and how through it all she had still loved him.

Tails's mind was trying to process the story; he knew Sonic could be horrible; he himself had been the victim to his insults many times. Sonic could make anyone feel like they were nothing, like being around people was just a burden to them, and even though he made you feel like that you were willing to do anything to gain his approval. The way Amy told the story, he knew he should have felt disgusted with Sonic, to want to just walk out of his house and go home. But there was something in what Amy said that made him think differently from the pink hedgehog. Even though he had bullied this girl, she had actually started it by trying to bully him… he was defending himself?

"Do you think the rumours were true… with Sonic and Rouge?" he asked, speaking quietly as if Sonic would walk in the room at any moment. Amy's eyes drifted away for a moment, causing the fox to look at her suspiciously. "Um no I don't think they were" she answered.

After she spoke, the door opened and Sonic walked back into the room holding a small diary in his hands. "Kay I'm back" he said, seemingly a lot more calm then when he had left as he smiled to the others, who forcefully smiled back in hopes he wouldn't think they had just been talking about him. Stepping past Amy he walked up to Tails and handed him the diary, "Here, I had to bother my Unc but he was cool with it. All the passwords are there" he said before walking back over to Amy. Tails opened the book and looked through, "This has the passwords to all of your accounts?" he asked when looking through the book. Everything was titled and listed, all of his accounts on every website he was connected to. "Yeah it's weird, Chuck has basically hacked my computer and linked it with his so he can generate new passwords by pushing a button. All my passwords change so he writes it out for me for when I next want to go on" he shrugged casually before sitting back down. Instead of feeling strange about it, Tails was feeling more curious about figuring out how it was done.

"Okay back to work. Unc said he'd be done in a few hours so he'll get the emerald out for us then, in the mean time we need to start work."

Going back to the book, Amy watched Tails find the right passwords and log onto the computer before starting his research before looking at the blue hedgehog. They all worked together at this point, asking questions, searching for the answers and trying to explain them before fitting it into the project. They had been going for a while, and even though they were focusing on the Science homework, several times Amy had tried to get Sonic talking about what he said to her, hinting to her new look and less overbearing personality, but every time Sonic changed the subject, leaving her to eventually give in.

And now, two hours in, they had been so focused on their work that all three practically jumped the moment Sonic's phone rang loudly through the air.

"Whoa! Oh my gosh!" the blue blur exclaimed while clutching his chest from the fright. The two preteens stopped what they were doing and watched him reach for his bag and tip it upside down, causing all his books and accessories to scatter across the floor. Among it all his phone still rang and he grabbed it, looking at the screen his face lit up eagerly. He answered and stood up, walking over to his bed to give himself some privacy.

"Sally! I'm so glad you called me, I've been worried sick"

"_Hey… I'm sorry I didn't reply to you before but I needed some time to think_"

Amy held the book to her face and pretended she was reading it, but over the top her eyes were fixed on the blue hedgehog, and even though he was talking privately, the connection on his phone was so loud she could even hear what the chipmunk was saying.

"Look, whatever I did to upset you I'm sorry okay? All I heard from Bunnie was that you were upset and she and your other friends have been treating me like I did something horrible… what did I do?"

"_No Sonic please just let me talk okay. I've been thinking about this all day and it's not fair to go off what people say without hearing your side of the story as well. Are you alone?_"

Sonic's eyes quickly looked around the room, Tails and Amy appeared to be distracted so he figured he'd be alright, "Yeah I was just in my room doing homework. What have people been saying?"

"_Well, not so much people… Promise me you'll be honest with me?_"

"Of course, Sal I've never lied to you before, you know I care about you too much"

"_Okay… because on Friday before we started School I went to the lockers to find-_"

Before she had a chance to finish that sentence, Amy lowered the book in her hands as if she had just found something thrilling and wanted him to look at it, "OH SONIC!" she screamed out, practically breathing his name passionately before squealing in her excitement which only caused the blue hedgehog to blush as the phone nearly dropped out of his hands.

"_What the… was that Amy?_"

"What no no no-"

"_You told me you were alone, what the hell is she doing in your room with you?_"

"She's just helping me with my homework, I swear"

"_Oh it sounds like it you lying jerk!_"

"Sal listen to me!"

"_Agh! Just throw yourself into a river you arrogant freak!_"

"Sally!" Sonic yelled out, but she had already hung up. Looking at the phone desperately, he tried to ring her back, but she cut him off every time. There were a million things he wanted to say but the words were stuck in his throat. Tails had stopped his work and watched everything happen from the moment Amy screamed out, Sonic was starting at her, looking at her in a way that was desperately begging for an explanation. But she wouldn't look him in the eyes, instead she stared at the ground guiltily while biting her fingers, knowing it had been her fault.

He didn't know what to do, Sonic wanted nothing more but to drop everything and run to Sally's house, but they had so much work to do he knew there was no time, no matter how fast he could run.

Placing his head into his hands he released a loud irritated scream before snapping back to reality, now feeling less tense. "I deal with it later, we got to get this done!" he cried before marching back to his work.

* * *

It had gotten dark by the time they were nearly finished and Amy couldn't have stayed any longer. She had received a text from her new friend telling her to come to her house and stay the night. So when the boys had reassured her that they could handle themselves and they had got enough information to give the book back, Amy had left to quickly pack her bags and ask her mother to drive her to the address she was given.

And now after placing her bags down and getting settled Amy paced around the large bedroom, that was decorated in purple themed patters and diamonds that had been placed anywhere possible giving the room a look of glamour and value while the young bat lay on her bed and listened to the girl as she rambled on.

"I hate him! Ever since I was there all I wanted to do was grab a hammer and hit him across the face! You know I told Tails about what he did to your friend? It made me realise, the moment I told that story for myself I stopped defending him and I realised how horrible he was. How selfish he could be! When I came to the door, do you know what he did? He looked around to make sure no one saw me go in! Like he was ashamed to be seen with me! Oh and even when Sally called, he wouldn't tell her he was with me and Tails, probably because he was too embarrassed. But I sorted that out good, I did what you told me to do if she rang him, I made it look like we were fooling around and she totally bought it. She told him to jump in a river. Agh! I'm so angry right now-"

Rolling her eyes and breathing deeply, Rouge pushed herself up from her bed and walked up to the young hedgehog, grabbing her arms to stop her from moving. "I told you, he's a user Amy. He's a selfish little boy who can't handle being told the truth, and you know what the truth is?" the white bat asked knowingly, Amy shook her head, "When people get to know him, they hate him."

Now that she had finally stopped, Amy felt all her adrenalin and anger go and be replaced with sadness. "I know…" she sniffed, starting to feel tears well up in her eyes, "You know I tried to get him to talk about what he said to me… I told him that I felt great with my new look, or how I was influenced to act differently… and he didn't even care, he changed the subject" as it all suddenly dawned on her, Amy felt the urge to sob rise up in her throat, "h-he n-never apologised…" her tears fell from to the bottom of her cheeks.

Rouge wasn't a sympathetic person but she looked at the girl with pity, remembering how she had once felt. Placing an arm around the girl's shoulders she rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"I loved him Rouge… After all the time's he treated me badly I l-loved h-him…" she whimpered, her voice breaking as she struggled to go on. It was such a weight on her heart, and now finally someone was here to listen to her, "W-when he s-said those things… he h-had never done that before… b-but when he s-said… _all I wanted to do was go home and die!_" she screamed out brokenly before falling down onto the double bed and throwing her head into her hands, bawling her eyes out.

The white bat sat by her side and pulled the girl up. She placed her head on her shoulder and wrapped her arms around her waist, letting her cry away the years of rejection, of torment that she had suffered through. It was unnoticed by the upset girl, but the smile that was fighting its way onto Rouges sparkling lips was nothing but malicious.

"I know you hate him right now and trust me sweetie I hate him too, but this is why we need to do this! We have to put him in his place and show him he can't get away with sticking his foot in our faces anymore!" she spat before pushing Amy away from herself and staring into her red puffy eyes, "We have a plan Rose and I need you to suck it up and act like nothing happened you hear me?"

But Amy shook her head woefully, "N-no I c-can't… all I think about-"

"I don't care what you think about! You need to put all those feelings aside and pretend he's the only thing you want in your life, pretend you still feel the way you used to or this will never work" the older girl snapped. Amy took a few short breathes but calmed herself enough to agree, "okay" she whispered. With a large smile, Rouge let go of her shoulders and pushed herself onto her bed properly, "Good, now that that's settled. What did you get for me?" she grinned hopefully. Amy wiped away the last of her tears before leaning down and picking up her bag.

Rouge raised her brow curiously as Amy pulled out a small diary and handed it to the older girl. "What's this?" she mused, opening the book and looking through. Inside was a list of different websites and usernames, followed by a bunch of numbers.

"Sonic told us his Uncle's pretty strict when it comes to him going online, because of what happened with that girl" Amy started to explain, Rouge sighed bitterly to herself, "Oh yes I remember. My friend tried to stick up for me and Sonic gave her a break down. Of course sweet old Chuck only found out about what she said to him and not what he did back."

Amy bit her lip, realising she had hit a nerve, but decided to move on, "Yeah, well his Uncle controls how often he goes online now, so he has all the passwords in this book" she said while pointing to the small diary. Instantly Rouges face lightened up and she squealed in excitement. "Amy Rose you are a genius!" she cried out while sitting herself up and kissing the diary. Amy looked at her in confusion but cried out in protest when the beautiful bat reached into her bag and pulled out the pink hedgehog's phone. "What are you doing?" she complained, but Rouge shushed her. Using the passwords written in the diary, she logged Amy out of her own SpaceBook account.

The hedgehog watched worriedly as Rouge entered Sonic's email address and used the numbered password before clicking enter. Even though Amy had stolen the book for this very purpose, she started to feel hesitant about the idea. Too late now as Rouge laughed victoriously as the message popped up saying Welcome Sonic.

"Oh we are going to have so much fun with this" the white grinned while licking her teeth, Amy wasn't feeling as confident, "Wait maybe we shouldn't!" she cried, but the seventeen year old shrugged her away, "You said it yourself Sonic never goes online, but no one is brave enough to say anything about him in case he finds out. Let's give them a reason to say something."

Looking at his account, Sonic was connected to nearly two thousand people, he had several unread messages that he never looked at and was part of different groups.

Only now Amy watched with butterflies in her stomach as Rouge typed a new status.

_You guys seen Amy today? Damn hot or what? Looks like Sally's gonna have to work harder to get my attention at night ;)_

Amy's hands clasped against her mouth in shock, "Rouge! You can't say that!" she cried out, knowing what would happen if she pressed send, "What if Sally sees this?"

"Oh I hope she does!" the bat laughed bitterly, and after which she went into the Tag People section and typed in the popular chipmunk's name, her smile growing darker as she hit select.

The pink hedgehog's hands practically shook, all she wanted to do was grab her phone and run away. She wasn't a bully, she didn't do this to people! It wasn't so much Sonic but Sally as well, the girl had actually tried to apologise to her and this is what she was doing… No. She was doing Sally a favour because she deserved better. With a heavy sigh, Rouge held her phone out to her, everything was set up and ready, but she wanted her to press send.

It was either send or delete; the buttons were next to each other.

She made up her mind and pressed one of the two.

* * *

**What was Tails looking for?**

**Did Sally break up with Sonic?**

**Did Amy let her guilt get the better of her?**

**What am I having for tea?**

**So many unanswered questions! Please review and I'll get my butt into gear and work on the next chapter soon.**

**Until then Toodles! hehe... Sonic said that in the last Sonic boom episode, I laughed like an idiot ^^**


	9. The Project Day

**So another long chapter is here! And it's project day! Yaay!**

**I've been talking to Modochi through PM and she actually gave me a good idea for part of this story, which was totally better then my original plan, so credit goes to her :) If anyone has any suggestions they'd like to share then I'd be greatful to hear them. **

**Also thank you for my lovely reviews ^^**

**If there's any wording mistakes, very sorry will fix soon though (yes I say this a lot but I feel I have too)**

**Hope you guys enjoy**

* * *

The phone rang several times once again, yet there was still no answer. Sonic waited a bit longer, his phone pressed against his ear patiently while he leaned himself against the side wall of the School. He was alone and out of sight, not having met up with his friends yet. He had tried all morning to get a hold of Sally but every time he rang her number he would only hear her voice on the answering message. His seventh attempt was no different, and in frustration the blue teen groaned and threw his head back into the wall.

Thoughts of what this day held ahead were making him feel sick. Sally was ignoring him, most of the kids in his class were ready to beat him up and the reason being was that stupid Science project they had to present today. The thought of standing up and speaking about the Chaos Emerald was something he could cope with; knowing that now Mrs. Winters would be looking for him to slip up was making him believe he maybe would.

Looking at the time on his phone he debated trying to call Sally once again, but there wasn't any time. So he adjusted his bag on his shoulder and made his way towards his first class.

Math wasn't so bad, heck it was probably the only academic thing he was good at. He didn't really mind doing this kind of work, learning about fractions, how to find the volume of a square and whatnot. Out of all his lessons this was the one that made the most sense to him. His grades however were not reflecting this. But when you're hanging out with the popular guys, have the whole School looking up to you for being a rebel and a bad boy, having the ability to be the star of the Mathletes is not something you let people know. So he dumbed down his work, which in itself was stupid because he really wasn't doing so well in his other lessons and Math might have been the thing he needed to pass the year.

Sitting down at his normal desk, Sonic placed his bag down next to him, careful of the metal box that was inside. So long as he passed the exam, he didn't need to worry.

Normally Sally sat next to him, it being one of the few classes they had together. The blue teen leaned back in his chair trying to look uncaring, but he watched every student walk through the door and there was no sign of his girlfriend. He wasn't left completely alone though, Silver had taken the desk in front of him as normal, only this time he seemed to hesitate. Raising his brow, Sonic leaned forward and tapped the other hedgehogs shoulder, Silver looked ready to talk but a purple cat stood in front of both of them, keeping the white hedgehog silent. It was normal for Blaze to sit with Silver and she and Sonic got on really well, not as well as she did with her desk buddy though. Normally she would sit down, watch Silver make a fool of himself as he tried to talk to her and the three, well four if Sally was there, would stay in their own little group. This time though, Blaze had no intention of sitting down. Sonic had to check twice, but Blaze was glaring at him. She bared her fangs at the sight of him and her eyes practically held fire in them.

What did he do?

"Blaze you okay-" Sonic started, but she raised her hand in the air and looked away from him in disgust. "Silver, I'm sitting over there now" she stated to the white hedgehog, pointing at the empty desks at the other side of the room. Silver's eyes darted from the desks, to her, then to Sonic. He kept looking around, not fully trusting himself in what he should do. But Blaze had made up her own mind and walked to the opposite desk, sitting herself down and waiting.

Looking at his friend, Silver sighed and slowly stood himself up before picking up his bag. Sonic felt his shoulders drop and his eyes grow wide with confusion and feelings of betrayel, "What are you doing?" he whispered, not wanting everyone around them to see he was being ditched. He just didn't understand what was going on. Silver didn't give him an answer, all he did was stare at him for a moment… like he was disappointed in him. Then he walked over to Blaze and joined her, leaving Sonic to just watch, not understanding why.

Tails had arrived unusually late as he clumsily pushed open the door. He was holding several folders and papers were flying out of them to which he quickly dropped down and picked them up.

Watching him made Sonic place a hand over his face, feeling a little embarrassed for the kid, especially as now they were supposed to be friends.

When having collected everything, Tails shot back up. He looked over to Sonic to see the hedgehog looking away. There were a few seats next to him but normally other people sat there, so Tails started to walk to the back of the class. Only when he took his third step, he failed to realise one of the older students had place his foot out from under the table purposely and without any time to react the fox screamed out, fell to the ground face first and all his work was scattered across the floor.

The classroom filled with laughter at his expensive, and Tails could feel the redness of embarrassment burn through his cheeks. He pushed himself up on his hands and knees but kept his head down, not ever wanting to be seen by anyone ever again. The sound of laughter suddenly stopped though, and in its place was the sound of speed. A flash of blue flashed around him for a couple of seconds, and then suddenly feeling brave enough Tails lifted his head and looked up. All of his, their, homework was piled neatly upon his desk while the blue hedgehog stood next to the guy who tripped him up, holding him tightly in a headlock effortlessly and dragged him from his chair and onto the floor, pulling him closer until he was level with Tails.

"I suggest you apologise" the teen snarled, a small taunting smile forming on his face which sent shivers down the foxes spine. "Okay okay I'm sorry."

Feeling he had made his point, Sonic let him go. The guy coughed and rubbed his throat from the tight grip, making Sonic realise his hold might have been stronger then he realised, but too late to go back now. He held his hand out to Tails, watching the fox blink a couple of times before realising what he was offering, then taking his hand and pulling himself up.

With one final look of warning to everyone in the class, the other students quickly went back to their own groups, not wanting to be involved anymore. But that didn't stop the whispers from slowly working their way around.

Sitting back down on his seat, the blue teen started to feel unsure of himself. Even though he tried to hide it, he was listening to what people were saying. Normally he would talk to Silver and never care but… now he could actually hear people, and they weren't impressed.

_Show off, over the top, insane?_ Was that what people thought of him?

Wait, did someone say something about him cheating?

"Um thanks… for standing up for me… can I sit?" Tails shyly asked while pointing to the empty chair. Sonic looked at it before shrugging, "Sure" he answered, letting the fox have the seat. "Are you nervous about the exam?" Tails questioned, not wanting them to sit in silence after what had just happened. Besides he had hoped that the two were past ignoring each other. It seemed like every day was different with the blue blur.

Sonic scoffed a little and placed his hands behind his head getting comfortable, "Nah we got this in the bag" he laughed. Tails smiled, glad he picked up a little, "Have you got the emerald with you?"

"Shh! Dude don't let people know" the older animal suddenly snapped in a panic, his eyes darting around to make sure no one was listening. Something that valuable does not need the School to be informed it's an arm's length away under a desk. "Sorry sorry" the young fox quickly stumbled, "I-I'm just really excited"

"I'm excited too… well kinda. Look let's just keep it between you and me okay?"

"Okay, sorry Sonic" the eight year old sighed. All he wanted to do was go over notes and talk about the emerald but now he had to keep quiet. Looking around he wanted to find something to talk about. Then it came to him that something was out of place, "Hey how come Silver and Blaze are sitting over there?" he asked, looking over at the cat and hedgehog. Sonic glanced over to them as well. It seemed like Blaze was complaining about something and Silver was trying, but failing, to reason with her. Only she kept looking at the blue teen.

Turning back, Sonic simply shrugged, "I told them to move, can't be bothered with their crap today" he shrugged, it didn't escape Tails notice that he spoke a little more louder then he should have.

He wanted to continue, but the announcement of the teacher's arrival had put him off.

* * *

The bell had not long ringed and the day continued on. Sonic had kept himself normal around his friends and went about the morning as he normally would. He constantly checked his bag to make sure his 'homework' was still safe and each time was pleased to see it tucked away under his books. What pleased him most though was that the majority of the day was over and he had enjoyed an hour of freedom at lunch time, or so he would have had he not been asked to see the Coach of their football team in that time.

Walking into the large arena Sonic stood next to the benches completely alone. He watched as the senior students were in their teams, dressed in the School's uniform and tackling each other to the ground. The Coach, a large muscular bulldog stood on the side lines, yelling and cursing at them at every opportunity that presented its self. He slavered so much that several students who ran by had to wipe fresh spit off their faces and hope no one took advantage of their distraction.

"GO ON YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOTS GET THAT DAMN BALL, MOVE YOUR BUTTS, GO!"

Then finally the team in red erupted in cheering as they finally scored the goal. The Coach screamed out loudly and clapped his hands in support before all the members walked passed him to go to the locker rooms. As each one passed he patted them on the shoulder and told them "good job."

When he looked down at his notepad and wrote down what he needed to, Sonic threw his bag back over his shoulder and stood up. He carefully approached him knowing that this meeting wasn't going to be good.

"Coach?" his normal confident voice spoke, though he hardly felt it this time as the bulldog swiftly turned around and stared at him carelessly. He didn't speak for a while, just carried on with his notes, making the hedgehog wait awkwardly. But eventually the dog was done, so he walked over to the bench, Sonic in tow, and packed his things away. "What's with the new getup?" the older man's harsh voice grumbled, causing Sonic to look down at the red jacket he had on. The pain was practically none existent but the scars were more than noticeable. "You asked to see me to talk about my clothes?" the teenager laughed, but regretted it when the bulldog snapped his head his way, his face drawn in an angry snarl and he looked ready to attack.

In that moment Sonic started to panic, he quickly looked around and noticed that no one was there, it was only the two of them left and no one could see them if anything happened.

The dog stood opposite him but not far away, his brow was furrowed deeply to show how he felt at that point, whereas Sonic himself started to tremble. "Do you think I'm in the mood boy?" he snarled, the hedgehog looked down not knowing if he should run away while he still could or do as he was told, "Sorry… I'm wearing it because… I'm cold?"

"You're cold…" Coach repeated with little amusement. Being a teacher for the past twenty years gave him a lot of experience when dealing with students who liked to skip class. Having to listen to excuse after excuse, he got good at telling who was lying or not. And unfortunately for Sonic he could tell just by looking at him. "So you're telling me that this whole 'new look' has nothing to do with you skipping the three hour practice? Hmm? Which by the way, as head player on my team I expect you to show up for no matter what!"

Cringing at his words, Sonic's hand slowly rose up to his lips where he bit down on his finger, desperately looking for a feasible reason for not showing up, this one time though he had nothing, "I-I ugh…" he started, but was silenced, "No, no excuses with me. You didn't show up and the whole team failed. Then when you had the chance to redeem yourself by after School practice, you skip that too" the older man condemned. "But I had homework and-"

"I SAID SHUT IT!" With the snap of his voice and the aggressive approach he made, Sonic felt something inside him break. As one minute he stood, the next he found himself fallen to the ground on his knees, his rigid hands covering his ears and panting heavily as he couldn't breathe anymore.

Anger completely gone, the bulldog felt a sweat drop fall from his face as it dawned on him what he had caused. He hadn't of realised how intimidating he must have seemed but the young teen was having a panic attack at his very feet. Getting his mind right, he leaned down and placed a gentle hand upon the boy and rubbed his back. "Sonic" he spoke more calm but the young hedgehog hadn't heard him, "Come on son, just breathe, you're okay" he normally wasn't a comforting person; this whole deal was new and strange for him, especially with a student who had a strong a reputation as this one. But eventually Sonic was able to listen, forgetting all the flashbacks that were playing through his mind, and the graphic images of what he had expected the Coach to do to him. When he had spoken, he realised that the older man was trying to help him, and he finally felt himself settle down.

Feeling he was looking better, the bulldog got up to his feet and stood properly. Holding Sonic by his arm, he slowly helped the other to do the same now that the hedgehog had remembered how to use his lungs again. Now feeling like he had just been in a daze, Sonic held his head in his hands, "s-sorry" he mumbled feeling foolish. The old bulldog just held up his hand and shook his head, "Look son, I know something is going on with you. During the practise not only did I have to listen to everyone whining like a bitch that you didn't show, but a lot of the guys said it was weird you started wearing this thing" he said while picking up his sleeve which made his arm hang loosely inside. "Now I did think about kicking you off the team" Sonic gasped and stared at the coach pleadingly, but luckily before he had the chance to grovel he carried on, "However! You are the best player I have and I do genuinely think you might have a reason. But that don't give you an excuse to miss my class again. You screw up one more time and you can forget playing the game, are we clear?"

He wasn't able to answer having lost his voice now, but he nodded his head gratefully and made it known that he understood. With that cleared up, Sonic pushed past the sport teacher and tried to quickly get out of the arena, but the booming voice calling his name asked him to stop. Looking back at the bulldog, Sonic waited as the old man collected his things then approached him carefully this time. "Sonic. If there's anything you want to tell me, now's the time to do it" he said.

That was it, all Sonic would have to do was tell him the truth and get out of this whole mess…

"No… I'm okay. Thank you" but he couldn't, because who would ever believe him?

* * *

The whole day had led him up to this moment. He sat at his not so usual desk next to the two tailed fox, his whole mind feeling messed up and confused. Tails was going over their notes again and again, terrified of speaking in public and correcting any mistakes they may have made for their hand in work. Right now two students were up in the front of the class, they had in front of them a small unimpressive looking beaker that held some weird chemical. They had pointed out firstly that it would have looked better had a certain blue hedgehog kept his mouth shut, but Sonic hardly cared about that now. His eyes were fixated on the woman sat behind her desk and taking notes of their work, she never once looked at him. She dressed differently again, shorter skirt and her hair down and styled. Many weird things had been happening today and he felt this lesson would be one of them.

Silver and Knuckles were called up next. The presentations only had to last at least five minutes, but every second was feeling like an hour. They talked about what they said they would, however there was nothing to really show, other than a simple slideshow of how psychokinesis should work, complaining they had nothing to show because again of Sonic. It made the hedgehog wonder if that was why Silver acted the way he did, but when he called him upon it after the class had ended, all the white hedgehog did was tell him to tone it down… tone what down? Nothing was making sense that day. Sally never took time off School, yet she was nowhere to be seen. When he eventually found Mina, Sonic had thought he might finally get some answers, being good friends with the mongoose, but to his horror she had said nothing before her hand lashed out and slapped him across his face stating that was for Sally.

He had made sure in the bathroom that a mark hadn't been left on his face, sadly he wasn't so lucky. Maybe that was why Coach was convinced something was up, the hedgehog had only seen it afterwards.

"Very well done boys, an excellent presentation, and looking through these notes you've covered all nine factors perfectly, though you didn't have to highlight them to make sure I didn't miss anything. A good effort nonetheless, congratulations you passed" the teacher spoke up when Silver and Knuckles finally got to sit back down. When hearing they had passed they turned to each other and fist bumped.

Looking ahead, her eyes scanned around the classroom, "Now whose next… Sonic and Tails. Care to come down?" she smiled, he knew it was fake.

With a shaky breath to calm his nerves, Sonic took the box out of his bag and Tails carried the paperwork. The hedgehog nudged the fox for his attention, "good luck" he mouthed, Tails smiling and doing the same.

Getting up and walking to the front of the class was like a convict walking to the chair of death. They stood behind the small table that was provided and Tails handed the homework to the teacher for her to look through. With everyone's judging and resentful eyes upon him, Sonic placed the metal box upon the table, along with an old broken looking laptop.

"F-for our project… me and S-Sonic umm… w-we ugh…"

Biting down on his lip, Sonic turned his head to the side slightly to get a better view of the fox that stood next to him. Tails was looking at the ground, any confidence he once had completely gone and was shivering from all the cold eyes that locked on him. The teacher was already taking notes and by looking at her she was taking Tails lack of showmanship into hand when it came to grading them. Was this all the slip she needed? Not if he could help it.

"For the presentation we didn't exactly have many ideas, not ones that would keep us interested for more than three seconds anyway. But when looking over the different factors and seeing what kind of research we needed to do, we found the perfect thing to talk about. Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you, our project" with a small flashy bow, Sonic reached his hand out and opened the metal Acorn encrusted box, revealing inside a beautiful shining green emerald.

The moment the powerful rays were exposed, the lights in the room flickered momentarily, the projector on the ceiling started to move around on its own, causing the screen to go off centre from the white board while the teachers computer opened up several programs without her touching it. A small red light that hadn't blinked in a long time, finally started to blink again upon the security camera.

Every student reacted to the sudden changes, either by jumping from their desks or screeching from the shock. But either way they were all entranced with the glowing green gem, even Mrs. Winters had stood from her desk and placed a hand on her chest from the surprise.

It was the reaction the hedgehog and fox had hoped for, "That's right guys, a Chaos Emerald."

"Nothing much is known about them, but the power these emeralds have is so strong that using it along with technology has an unpredictable reaction. It can be used to either power machinery or used to cause a ray in which scrambles a machines internal wiring, giving the electric frequencies too much volume meaning a simple object such as a broken laptop has the power to be a bomb" the young fox finally found his voice as he explained what they had studied. He held his hand out to Sonic who held the broken laptop in his hands high for everyone to see before putting it down. He opened it up and tried to turn it on, only for an error message to pop up after a few moments, showing it was broken. "If we were to let the emerald make direct contact with the laptop it would be enough to hack into every computer in this School and scramble up every code and information on every program, even the internet. In extreme cases using the laptop while this is happening is enough to make it blow up. However, when containing the power and using it in small measures, the results can be different" Tails picked up a cable wire which on the end had crocodile clips, he clipped one end to the side of the box and the other he clipped onto the laptop. The emerald shone brighter while the power flew visibly from one end to the other until the whole laptop was shrouded with a green aura. Then suddenly the error message that had been displayed upon the screen was replaced with Welcome. It had worked.

"Despite all the research, we not only found that the emeralds work well with mechanics" the young fox lead on, but then signalled to Sonic who smiled back. Reaching out his hand, the hedgehog took a hold of the emerald in his own hand.

A wave of gasps flowed around the class and Knuckles stood from his chair, "Are you crazy?"

But without a sure expectation of what to happen, they were astonished when the emerald glowed brightly between the cracks of Sonic's fingers before engulfing him with a golden glow that made him shine brightly in the now darkened room.

"As you can see, through the emerald only a very few people on Mobius can use it to turn their thoughts into power, Sonic being one of them" the boy chimed, watching as his friend experimented with his new glow, making the emerald react more and watching as the aura flames flickered around his body. Then when he had enough with his lightshow, he placed the emerald back into the box and shut the lid, his golden glow faded and all the machinery returning to normal, finishing their presentation.

With the show over and everyone left in awe, the two mismatched boys smiled widely when Mrs. Winters stood from her desk and clapped her hands together appraisingly. Unsure if they should join or not, the students looked at each other before hesitatingly applauding the two for the presentation they gave.

Looking at each other, Sonic and Tails took in the praise they received before playfully taking bows then packing up their things and returning to their seats.

"Oh wonderful, simply wonderful boys" the teacher spoke proudly. Sonic watched her disbelievingly; he had actually made her change her mind about him. "I must admit I was unsure whether you two would deliver, with Tails being so young and Sonic showing a lack of interest" she put it lightly, "and yet you may have just given us the greatest Science presentation I have ever seen in this School. And looking through the written work you handed in you've covered all nine factors which was considerably hard concerning how little many know of the emeralds" she mused.

Sonic felt as if he was on cloud nine, he actually managed to do it, and now not only would she have to admit she was wrong but he would pass this year with flying colours. There was nothing to ruin it now!

"Which makes it all the more bitter that I have to fail the both of you"

"WHAT?!" Sonic cried out with his fists slamming against the table in disbelief. Tails felt his face drop at the heart breaking news after they had worked so hard…

Mrs. Winters placed her hands together and pouted, "Well I'm truly sorry but yesterday you informed me that your project was going to be about making, and I quote 'Old woman doable', and I did strictly say that once you tell me what your project would be there was no going back" she sighed sadly and shook her head.

The hedgehog wasn't accepting it though as he lunged himself out of his chair, "NO! You can't do this to us! We've spent hours working on this project, we got a damn Chaos Emerald for Mobius sakes! You've passed other losers who had practically nothing to show!"

"And whose fault was it that they had nothing to show hmm? Regardless of what everyone else has done they stuck with what they told me they were doing, you however should have thought about this before you spoke. Please sit down" she explained passively before turning her back on him. But Sonic couldn't hide his anger, the uncontrollable rage that filled within him. Tails had hardly noticed, the fox kept his head down in hopes no one saw the disappointed tears fall from his face.

"We needed to pass to complete this year! We earned it fair and square, and don't freaking care how much you hate me, thanks to you Tails is going to fail because he sucks at football!" he started to shout, unaware of the students who moved away from him when his fur started to fade into something darker.

As his voice grew louder, so did hers, "Mind your tone Mr. Hedgehog and sit back down!" she commanded, turning back and glaring him down. But his eyes locked heavily with hers, a sudden flash of an aura returning to him only this time it was black and not gold.

He bared his seething teeth and locked his fists tightly, "Why should I? I do whatever I want! I don't need some stuck up bitch of a teacher to tell the things I don't need in life. There's no reason for me to be here so there's no reason for me to listen to you. I don't even know what stops me from breaking your neck" he hissed through his darkened sinister voice. The students looked at each other in horror, not understanding what was going on.

But then out of seemingly nowhere, the teacher laughed, unfazed by his visible darkness, "Was that supposed to be a threat? As if I have any real reason to be afraid of you? Look at you."

Sonic stopped, no longer angry but stunned as she advanced on him. "I mean really now do you think people are impressed? You try to act like such a hotshot, the rebel of the School no doubt, but we both know who you really are. A small little boy whose so desperate of the attention he never had before, no father or mother to care, and stuck with an abnormality that makes him too much of a monster to ever be accepted by anyone. So you _pretend_ to be something you're not, which is strong."

_CRASH_

She had very little time to react, no one in the class room had seen it until it was over and it registered in their minds.

But the teacher was now on her hands and knees, panting franticly and thanking the lord she had her feline reflexes.

The blackness in Sonic's fur was gone, as was the aura that surrounded him. The young teen gasped fearfully while staring at his own hands. He hadn't realised what he had done, until he saw his chair at the front of the class room resting on its side with the legs broken and snapped. The white board that was mounted on the wall was now fallen face down, the screen cracked and the wires sparking with electricity.

He didn't understand how he had done it, but he was so angry and he felt stronger since he held the emerald. Looking around, every student had jumped out of their chairs and stood by the walls, each one fearing him. Tails stood with Knuckles, away from him like the rest.

Then the teacher stood up, enraged at what he had done. With every marching step to she took to him he backed away until he was against the wall. He held his hand out to stop her, "no" he pleaded with a whimper, but she took him firmly by the arm and dragged him to the door. "Get this place cleaned up, I'll be back soon" she yelled out to everyone who watched in bewilderment. When passing his desk she picked up his bag and forced it into his hands aggressively, showing everyone that he wasn't coming back.

* * *

**Oh boy, things don't look good for Sonic now :S**

**If you want a quick update please bug me, it helps lol. Till next time xx**


	10. To The Office

**I am so so so so so sorry, I promised a quick update and I sadly had things going on at home.**

**I did want this chapter to be longer but I also wanted to update quickly. So I decided to leave it on this, however next chapter may be my shortest chapter, but probably not, who knows :)**

**Anyways, I am litrally over the moon at how many reviews I got, thank you guys so much! You are so awesome, all of you :D**

**Well enjoy the chapter, sorry for any mistakes, I'll fix it later ^^**

* * *

Every step he took he placed a heavy weight upon himself as he tried to pull away from her, but she held his arm so tight that he felt it go numb. She was practically dragging him down the hallway and all he could do was try to pry her hand off him, even though he was normally stronger than her he just felt so weak, and he was unsure if it was something to do with the emerald this time or his unavoidable growing fear. "Please don't do this" he whimpered, his chest racing for breath. She however remained silent, angered and bitter towards him. So when she pulled him towards the teachers' lounge, he truly did not know what would await him as she pulled open the door and threw him inside, making sure the room was empty before slamming the door behind them both and pulling down the blind.

Now out of anybody's sight, she pushed Sonic away from her, causing the teen to trip on his feet and almost fall to the ground. His bag dropped from his arm and he spun around breathlessly to faced her.

Mistake!

The moment he turned, he felt the hard back of a large book slam across his head. With a sharp cry his whole world started to spin. He was unable to stand still now swaying side to side while his vision blurred out of focus. He hadn't noticed he fell to the floor until the double version of his teacher was stood vertically, walking to what he thought might have been a table and placing the book back down until there was nothing more than darkness and an irritating thumping noise ringing through his ears.

* * *

Tails sat back at the desk he now shared with Sonic. Looking at the clock it had been almost ten minutes since Mrs. Winters had taken Sonic away. He wasn't sure where though, probably to Robotnik's office. The whole scene kept running through his mind like it was on replay. The blackness of Sonic's fur, his sudden strength, it all puzzled him so much, and when he had a puzzle on his mind he couldn't sleep until it was solved. The other students were talking about him, not in a good way. Of course Tails wasn't involved in any of their conversations, until Knuckles called out to him.

The young fox looked up at the red echidna who now walked over to him. Some of the kinder students had cleaned up the mess Sonic made but Knuckles didn't hesitate to move a few chairs out of his way despite their efforts. "You've been hanging out with Sonic a lot recently" the red teen stated plainly, though Tails detected the slight bitterness behind his words. He was putting the eight year old on the spot and mostly everyone was looking, hoping they would get some new information to pass around.

"Ugh… yes?" he mumbled, unsure where the conversation was going.

"So care to tell me what's being going on with him lately? Seeing as after all you're such good buddies" he laughed, clearly mocking the child. Tails wasn't really sure how to answer that question, or how to respond in general, so he timidly shrugged his shoulders, "I-I don't know…"

"Oh please, I bet this is all because of you that he's acting weird now. You're probably doing some freaky tests on him without him even realising it" the echidna snapped.

The child's eyes widened worriedly, "What?! No no, I would never do that-"

"Oh yeah" Knuckles scoffed, "Ever since you met Sonic all you wanted to do was run experiments on him. How come now you're suddenly trying to be friends with him after all the times he humiliated you? Especially as that stupid Science exposition is coming up that, hmm let me think, you lost last year."

Bright pink flushed across his white furred mussel, and the smell of sweat filled the fox's nose when he realised how hot he suddenly felt. "H-how did you know about the Science exposition?"

"Simple, I looked online to get ideas for the project and noticed it on the website; your name came up as the first entry."

He now didn't know what to say, his small mouth opened and closed like a fish looking for water, "I-it has n-nothing to do w-with Sonic! I-I just…"

Knuckled placed a large hand into the air and silenced the fox, "Don't bother kid, but if you want to save yourself trouble from me!" he leaned in closely and smiled, showing off his razor like teeth "I'd stay away from Sonic, got it?"

Nodding was the only thing Tails could do, so with a final grin Knuckles pulled away and walked back to his chair, allowing the other students to create their own stories about what had happened, he learned a long time ago how to tune people out. When he sat back down, he watched as the young fox quickly pulled out his personal note pad and start writing things down, clearly trying to distract himself as he looked ready to cry.

A slight tap from the white hedgehog next to him pulled him away from his gaze, "Dude what was that all about?" Silver asked, not understanding the situation. A small growl ripped through the echidna's throat and he glared at the fox, "I don't trust that kid, I think he's up to something" was his answer. Silver took a moment to let his words sink in, looking at the young fox as well who appeared so harmless, "Yeah but I don't see the big deal in it" he mistakenly said as Knuckles looked at him as if it was personal, "Oh, so I suppose you'd be happy to be put on display as an abnormal freak of nature and have loads of old people prod you about and do experiments on you just to see why you can move faster than what some consider normal huh?" he snapped. "I don't think it would come to that Knucks."

"Whatever, Sonic doesn't want to be put on show like a trained animal, and I think Tails might be looking for a little more than friendship." With the way Knuckles spoke, Silver could tell in his voice there was genuine concern, "Why do you care so much?"

Knuckles didn't answer.

* * *

Blacking out was bad, but waking up had been worse.

When Sonic eventually had opened his eyes again, the first thing he did was panic. His hands had been bounded together behind his back with duct tape. He realised he was sat on a chair, his legs were taped in place and he was immobile. He screamed, but tape covered his mouth and nothing could be heard outside the room, that didn't stop him from trying. His chest felt heavy while fear and anxiety played havoc on his insides. He turned his head side to side, desperate to get his clear vision back. And eventually he did, but he saw the door was barricaded with one of the file cabinets which meant it no one could walk in.

He pulled against his bondages, an effort in vain; all he achieved was making his chair jump and move more to the left. But with one big pull, he lost all balance and felt the small chair fall backwards. He yelped, but before making contact with the ground two hands reached out and caught him from behind before placing him right. Hyperventilating, Sonic didn't need to look to know who it was, but watched as the black cat walked slow and swiftly around him, her hand never leaving his shoulder until they were facing each other, then her hand raised slowly and brushed against his face as she cupped his cheek. "Comfy?" she smiled sickly, to which the blue hedgehog looked down in shame. Then with laughter she pulled away from him, watching as the boy once again struggled against his bonds.

"I wouldn't bother Sonic, there are plenty of other things you should be more worried about now" he stopped at her words, eyes wide and terrified and he whimpered harshly, ignoring the building tears he wanted so badly to keep inside.

His eyes snapped to her, watching her sway to one of the desks and picking up objects he couldn't see. "You haven't been out long, but long enough for me to figure out what to do with you" her voice sang softly, yet every word cut like a knife. She finally turned and he saw in her hands she held a cigar and a lighter. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he couldn't ask.

His body trembled as he watched her place the cigar between her lips and light the end before blowing a puff of smoke through the air. The sensation of being tied up started to get to him, he felt churning through his stomach and the urge to throw up with abundant. He needed to run, he needed to move, and he was so desperate he was willing to face anything. Was this his punishment? Being restrained? He wanted to ask so badly, he just wanted an answer, or anything.

But she turned to him, and descended upon him with her eyes growing darker and the cigar end growing brighter the more the fire burned upon it. Then he knew being left restrained would have been too good for him.

He shook his head and pleaded silently, every scream and cry being blocked out once again. She kneeled down in front of him, her face close to his. She placed the cigar back into her lips once again, and blew the thick smoke directly into the blue hedgehogs face, causing him to choke whilst struggling against his gag.

She held the cigar in front of him, twirling it between her fingers and getting his reluctant attention. "There were many things I wanted to do to you, beat you, and maybe scar you… blind you even. But in the end I suppose I should be a little subtle, don't you agree?" she spoke in a voice innocent and sweet as honey.

Tears finally did fall from his pleading eyes when Sonic finally realised what she had intended to do. He didn't understand how she could be so sick and crazy, or what he had done to cause her to react as bad as this! But he didn't know what to do now; he closed his eyes and cried out sorrowfully, trying so hard to beg for forgiveness.

She could understand him, but ignored him. "We both know why this is happening. You literally leave me with no choice" she sighed, as if it was harder upon her then him. Then there was one final smile as her hand reached out to the zip upon the red jacket Sonic wore. With a slight hum in her voice she slowly pulled it down, exposing the soft pink circle of flesh that was surrounded with blue.

Sonic scrunched his eyes together and bit down hard upon his lip.

Though muffled, his blood curling screams filled through the room as the burning impact tore through his flesh, fire eating away in small circles upon his chest as his torture began.

The teacher showed no remorse as she dug at him, placing the cigar upon his chest again and again, embracing his fear and pain, caring no more as he begged and pleaded, his tears falling on her hands. He flung himself around, tipping the chair side to side to get away so she held him still. Again and again she pushed the fire on his skin, leaving behind red circles of burnt flesh. But she got carried away.

Her eyes snapped wide and she spun her head around. Looking at the clock, she realised she had been away from her class for over twenty minutes. It struck her then, this wasn't detention or lunch break. Other students were waiting for her and any longer would surely leave them talking.

So she pulled the cigar of the blue teens flesh, leaving the boy to scream through his pain, his chest was burning with the fire and blistered started to form upon the ugly scars.

She left him, walking to the window which view had been blocked out by the blind, she allowed a little view so she could reach and open it up, letting fresh air rush into the room. She pulled out the secret ash tray many teachers liked to keep hidden and put the cigar out, and then threw the evidence out the window along with the ashes.

Turning around, she saw Sonic had grown pale and he curled in on himself. She had wanted to keep the window opened but he screamed so much she couldn't risk it. She closed it once again and pulled down the blind. Going to her desk she pulled out air freshener and sprayed a lot of it all around the room, not leaving any part untouched.

With the evidence gone, there was just one thing to deal with.

With scissors in her hands, she walked up to the hedgehog. The pain he felt was so over baring he failed to notice anything she had done. But seeing her knelling down to him once again with scissors in her hand, he flipped. A pure cry of fear sliced his throat and he shook his head wildly once again pleadingly, sobbing at the thought of what else she would do to him filled his mind. But instead she grabbed the bond she had made upon his legs and cut away at them.

Finally he was able to kick out. He didn't bother to aim for her, instead the moment his feet were back on the ground he tried to run away, but his frantic movements only ended with him losing complete balance and tipping the chair and himself over. Failing to keep him still, the teacher moved quickly to get to the back where his wrists had been tapped together. Only when she cut throw the bond, Sonic ripped his hands apart and scrambled to all fours. He pathetically crawled away from her until he was up against the wall, as far back as he could be. His His hands went instantly to his chest, he couldn't bear to touch the wounds, but he tensed up so much he couldn't pull away.

He couldn't breathe, he started gasping for air as the agonised sobs rose from inside. His trembling hands went to the duct tape that was upon his lips, but the moment he gripped the sides a pair of hands snatched his wrists and pulled them away, causing Sonic to alarmingly turn to the woman who stood over him dominatingly. His hands turned as white as his gloves, she was holding his wrists too tight as bruising was already starting to form.

"Nuh uh, I don't think so" she hissed in a hush tone, Sonic's cried still being muffled out, "If you want it off I suggest you keep it down."

All he wanted to do was let his agony go, scream until his lungs bled out, but fear managed to take over, he breathed through the pain which caused the feeling of suffocation to take over as he choked against the tape. He tried so hard to silence himself and it felt like an eternity to which he just couldn't handle it. Eventually though, he got to the point his eyes stung as much as his chest and his throat could have easily been bleeding. He managed to settle himself and keep his screaming under control.

When satisfied, the teacher smiled approvingly and let go one of his wrists, to which his hand instantly went to the other to weakly pry off her hold, an attempt that failed.

With her free hand she gripped the side of the tape and with a fast lash of her arm; it ripped off his sore red lips. An instant shrill cry at the pain and he suffered by her gripping his wrist tighter, letting her claws dig in. Finally able to breath, he choked on his sobs, which he kept quiet, his forehead fell upon his captive wrist and he pleaded with her.

Eventually she let go, watching as he fell forward, only catching himself on his hands before once again curling into a ball on the floor and holding onto himself, pitiful whimpering surrounded the room while his tears fell free. His throat was burning as the horrible taste of bile caused him to gag each time his stomach lurched, until he couldn't hold it down anymore and vomit passed between his lips and covered the floor.

He chocked against the disgusting flavour, crying at the pain that cramped his stomach when he wretched once again, no unable to keep anything down and wishing he hadn't eaten at lunch. He buried his head into his arm, which he helplessly leaned against the wall. He let his shoulders shudder as he whimpered loudly.

His eyes were shut tight, but opened when a light tap of heeled shoes sounded next to him. He looked up pitifully at her, she once again showed no emotion to him.

"…Why?" he breathed out helplessly, his eyes so red and dry that looking at her stung, but he wanted his answer, why had she hurt him so much?

She shrugged with a little smile once again, "Why not?"

* * *

_From where he was high in the sky, all he saw was fire and rubble below. Buildings toppled down, causing nothing but havoc and chaos. Millions of people ran around in a panic while their fearful screams sang through his ears. _

_He laughed manically as lasers shot from robot and robot, firing at will to anything moving or not, so long as it caused destruction. _

_The rounded moustached man laughed at it all from his flying egg mobile, he held his arms high in the air as he watched it all. Taking over the world had never felt so amazing! It could have easily been a dream…_

Knock. Knock. Knock.

With a startled snort, the large man jumped awake from his slumbering state at the sudden noise from the door. He quickly looked around; he wasn't in his much beloved egg mobile, no was he watching the city being destroyed. He was sitting in his large chair with his feet up upon the desk. Instead of the red villainous attire he had envisioned himself to be dressed in he wore a simple grey suit and a red shirt and tie.

Dream now replaced with reality, Robotnik growled lowly to himself and he placed his feet back down to the ground beneath his desk. He picked up a pen and positioned himself to look as if he had been busy with work. A hand gently stroked his extremely long moustache when he finally answered, "Come on in!" he shouted, "It's not like I was doing anything" he added with a small mumble.

The door opened and he grinned when the black tabby cat walked into his office, "Ah Mrs. Winters, a pleasure as always" he started to say, but his smile soon changed when he saw she wasn't alone. Carefully in her hands, she held that blue hedgehog he detested with a passion, the very boy that ruined his life. Normally he won't give the rat any time of the day, but Mrs. Winters held him carefully in her hands like he would fall apart at any moment.

With his brow raised high, Robotnik studied the teenager's appearance. The boy was far too pale for what was normal, his eyes looked swollen and the red veins were too intense to look at. He was wearing that jacket again but it had dark patches down the front which he wasn't sure were from, but judging by the vile smell in the room, he could easily guess it was vomit. He saw that the blue hedgehog couldn't focus properly, his head lulled side to side and his legs shook under his light weight. The teacher was holding him for a reason, to stop him from falling down.

Pushing his chair back, Robotnik stood up and moved around his desk to approach the two, "What on Mobius happened?" he growled accusingly, not showing an ounce of sympathy but instead seemed like he was already blaming him.

"Oh Robotnik I didn't know what else to do. He needs medical care but I felt the situation was far too urgent I had to come to you first" Mrs. Winters answered, she looked at the rounded man with so much concern while her hands held the hedgehog closer to herself, her eyes looking down at the boy sadly.

Pausing from her words, Robotnik placed his hands across his chest and locked his arms together, he waited for her to continue, "What did he do this time?" he spat angrily at the hedgehog, who only looked away from the Principle shamefully. With a brief pardon, the teacher helped the blue hedgehog to sit down on the chair in front of Robotniks desk, placing his bag next to him. As soon as Sonic felt the weight off his legs, he felt so dizzy he didn't know if he could stay awake. The teacher helped him place his arms on the desk so he could rest his head for a moment, which of course made her look like a saint at this point, despite she was the reason he felt like this.

Robotnik hadn't helped, he just watched impatiently not understanding why she didn't just let him get on with it himself, "Well?" he beckoned her.

Turning her back on the teen, it was like the two suddenly forgot Sonic was there. He breathed deeply but listened to what she had to say.

"I don't know what happened, but I was in the middle of my Science lesson. Sonic and Tails gave me their presentation but unfortunately I had to fail them both on. That's when he flipped out, it all happened so fast I didn't have much time to react, but he picked up his chair and threw it at me. You can even see the damage it caused to the classroom it was terrible! So I took him out of the classroom and placed him in the teachers' lounge area, I had hoped he'd calm himself down there. Only I made a mistake, I left the room for a few minutes and when I came back inside I found him…" she stopped, looking completely distressed at her own story.

Robotnik pushed her on, "Yes? What did he do?" he snapped.

Rubbing her forehead she sighed, "He had a packet of cigarettes on him; he started lighting all of them and ripped some pages out of the books. He was trying to set fire to them… I feared he was trying to burn down the School."

"What?" Sonic winced through his pain, finding the strength to push his head up and stare frantically at the woman who lied to his principal. Looking at Robotnik, it was only false hope that he would doubt her story. He was appalled at what he heard and glared down at the young teen despising. "Why you little blue rodent!" he abruptly spat, his hands held out ready to choke which caused Sonic to cry out fearfully. But Robotnik paused when remembering he had company.

So standing up right and clearing his throat he corrected himself, "So what happened to him, why is he like this?" he asked while giving the ailing hedgehog a dirty look. "When I saw what he was doing I just panicked, I grabbed him and tried to pull him away but he started to fight with me. I can't recall exactly what happened but he somehow lost his footing and fell onto the cigarettes, he also banged his head against the side of the desk, the injuries are really bad" she explained. Approaching Sonic once again, the hedgehog wanted to back away from her but she reached out and tipped his head to the side, apparently showing Robotnik something on the back of his head. He hadn't noticed anything there but then he couldn't see that area. After explaining the bump, she pushed him back into the chair so they could both get a better view of his chest, where she opened his jacket a little and showed the Principal the nasty looking scars. He didn't feel safe or comfortable through any of this, but there was nothing he could do.

Nodding in satisfaction, Robotnik placed a heavy hand upon Sonic's shoulder, an action to which a moaned at the forceful impact, "Yes well, you did the right thing Mrs. Winters. I'll send for a nurse right away but for now I feel I should have a little word with… Sonic. I'm sure your students are waiting for you" he dismissed, though he found himself wanted to say many other things then the boy's actual name.

The blue teen trembled beneath his hold; he wanted to be as far away from his teacher as possible, but being left in Robotniks care… what if that was worse?

* * *

**Ohhhh my days, what do you guys think is gonna happen? Please leave your opinions in the reviews :D**


	11. Worst Day Ever

**Oh my days! If this doesn't make up for a short chapter last time then I give up!**

**Hey it's me, haven't updated in a while. I've had butt loads of drama and stuff going on, plus I wasn't 100% feeling this chapter so I'm sorry if it's not great. There's plenty going on I can say that. There may be spelling/ miss wording but again I'll sort those out soon, just want to get it up and done.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews! I can't believe how many people have been reviewing and it's just great so thank you so much. **

**A reply to Ghostkid33 in regard to your suggestion, all I'm gonna say without giving any spoilers is I think me and you are on the same wave length ;)**

**Anyway, on with the chapter and hope you enjoy ^^**

* * *

If ever there was something she could say she was brilliant at, aside from her stunning beauty and ability to have men fall at her feet, it was her graceful skill of stealth. Rouge couldn't have found it easier to go from hall to hall, outside and inside, passing by group to group and getting all the dirty information she needed without so much as being seen.

She leaned casually and innocently against the door frame, her back and attention supposedly away from the group of preteen girls, each one thinking she was the next queen bee, but now they were surrounding the 'main girl' as farfetched as it sounded. But the young lamb was looking shamefully to the ground, to the point of being near tears as she confided in her friends about the kiss she shared with her boyfriend's best friend, all her little groupies that blocked her from the world gave her comfort, the usual cheesy lines such as 'If he's smart he won't be upset with you' and 'but you're so beautiful, he'd be crazy…' and so on and so forth.

A normal day and Rouge would have been cringing at the childish depiction of cool girl talk, but right now the secrets she was discovering were far too delicious that she bit down on her glossy lips and silence the small giggle that wanted to break free. She wrote everything she heard down in her diamonded notepad, which was near the point of being full.

She had arranged to see Amy after School at a diner she enjoys. The pink girl was still upset at what _he_ had done to her, but she still wasn't seeing the full picture yet. The white bat had wanted to slap her when she ended up refusing to send that message on SpaceBook, leaving her once again doing all the dirty work. Luckily the hedgehog agreed not to back out, she was vital if Rouge really wanted to get back at that blue skid mark. Just as well she left his account logged in on Amy's phone, heaven knows she would have gone over board had she used her own phone. Still, it won't be long now… pretty soon the whole School will hate him as much as she does.

Then all she needs is to call 'her friend'...

* * *

The door quietly came to a close when the teacher had left. The blue hedgehog still sat upon the chair in front of the principal's desk, his hand resting lightly upon his injured chest as he wheezed through the pain. His green eyes locked firmly on the man who stood above him, brows furrowed deeply and nothing but a grimacing flash of his teeth was seen under his too long a moustache. The blue hedgehog's followed his movements as the obese one walked to his chair and sat himself down; he rested his elbows upon the desk and locked his hands together in contemplation. Silence filled the air when the two stared at each other, neither knowing each other's thoughts yet not wanting to know either.

Then suddenly, Robotnik shrugged his shoulders "Well, you care to explain yourself rodent?" he snarled, making Sonic know that whatever he said wasn't going to be taken with consideration for himself. However for once he wasn't worried about telling the truth, because Mrs. Winters had made a very big mistake.

"I didn't try to burn the School down Eggman! She was lying!" he firmly stated, breathing heavily as the heat started to burn a bit more in his chest. It felt like the fire had been in his lungs, it was getting hard to just talk. Robotnik growled at the supposed pet name the blue pest had given to him, still he had to get the formalities out the way, "Really now?" well perhaps he wasn't feeling too formal now days. "Yes! Everything she said wasn't true, I did not light those cigarettes, I never attacked her and I totally did not get these burns from 'Falling onto them'" he protested bitterly while quoting the words she had used against him. Sonic stared at the older man, he tried to look for a sign of belief but there was nothing close to it to be found.

Robotniks hand brushed along his enormous moustache as he supposedly mulled things over, "Now now Sonic, do you really expect me to take your word over one of my best teachers in this School?" he mocked.

A wave of panic started to race through him, "But I'm telling the truth! I-"

"You, a bully known for being a compulsive liar, over the word of Mrs. Winters, a woman who has dedicated a lot of her years to my School and contributed to our success rates?" Robotnik clarified, showing where he stood on the matter.

A lump rose in Sonic's throat as the urge to gag from the pain within his chest became too intense, "I… But I-I'm telling you the truth! Just hear me out!" he cried, his eyes pleading with the old man to listen to him. But all he could see was a glint that flashed across the man's glasses."Oh really? Then let's hear your side of the story shall we? So you didn't throw a chair at one of my teachers?"

"…" Sonic froze, not having expected to hear what the man said. He looked for an answer, but realised there was no real defence for it, "Well no… I mean yes, okay that part was true…"

"And supposedly she didn't take you to the teachers' lounge either?" he pressed on, cutting the hedgehog off.

Sonic blinked a couple of times while his mind tried to regain focus, "No she ugh… she did but-"

"And perhaps there was no involvement of cigarettes either?"

Sonic remained silent. He stared at Robotnik with such disbelief, the man had pin pointed the key points so accurately that… was he being paranoid?

Robotnik placed both his hand on his desk and lifted himself up off his chair, a wicked smile forming under his nose. "And if this is the case how exactly did you get those burns? Hmm? Well speak up, tell me your side of things. Try to lie your way out of this one you little blue pin cushion and see if anyone will ever believe you…"

"SHE DID THIS TO ME!" Sonic burst out, tears finally falling down his mussel and his chair pushed back before it knocked against the ground when he stood up too quickly. He stood staring into the man's eyes, his chest heaving as the small sobs escaped from him, now having the reality of the situation crash down upon him.

Robotnik showed no emotion once again, but slowly sat himself back down and clasped his hands together impatiently. He watched as Sonic rubbed at his eyes and tried to silence his urges to keep crying. The teen looked around awkwardly before leaning down and righting the tip over chair before sitting himself back down. He still whimpered in his pathetic state but his eyes kept away from Robotnik, preferring to stare at the door hoping someone would come in and take him away.

"S-she did this to me" he whispered again, a sharp cry surly following after. "S-she hit me with a b-book a-and t-tied me to a c-chair a-and..." his voice broke down and he buried is face within his hands, leaving Robotnik to watch with little care as his body trembled as he wept. "S-she lit a c-cigar and b-burned me with it!" he finally managed to say. Despite the fact that the truth had hurt him so much to tell it, he finally felt a sense of relief knowing that he had actually told someone, he didn't have to keep it inside anymore, and that was what made him cry most of all as the release of pressure left him.

Robotnik raised his brow and just watched as the hedgehog lost control of himself. While feeling impatient, he waited for the teenager to rub his face once again and breathe deeply to get himself somewhat calm, or at least get himself into a state where he could talk to him.

"You realise these sort of accusations are to be taken very seriously here Sonic" the Principal stated, Sonic looked up to him, a look of hope finally filling his eyes. "R-really?" he sighed as relief waved through him. "Yes, they are. Lying and accusing a teacher of acts they have not committed is not taken lightly here and there are very serious consequences involved also."

Sonic placed his arms upon the desk and through his head down, a deep sob ripped from within him. For a second he actually thought he would have finally had help, but Mrs. Winters was right, Robotnik would never believe him without any evidence…

Wait…

"Check the tape!" he cried out, shooting his head up from his arms and taking Robotnik off guard.

"What?!"

"T-the tape in the Teachers room, you have to check it! It will show you everything!" Sonic breathed, the smallest of desperate smiles forming on his face knowing that the truth would be revealed and action would have to be taken.

With a moment of silence from the School Principal, the man took his time once again which just left Sonic to plead with him. Eventually the man lifted up the desk matt in front of him, which underneath hid a mechanism that had several suspicious looking buttons and an intercom. He pushed a small green button and with a small beep Sonic questioningly stared at him. The sound of the books in the bookcase being pushed backwards without falling to the ground grabbed his attention from behind him as the shelves seemingly dropped and flip to the side like they were part of a transforming robot. When they cleared the way a part of the wall slid to the side and a giant T.V screen drove forward, now being centre of the bookcase.

Sonic raised his brow taken aback; it was like something his Uncle would make.

Robotnik picked up his cup of coffee and took a small sip from the grey cup before picking up a remote with his free hand. With just one simple button Sonic lost his breath as the blank screen now showed a cornered sky view of the Teacher's Lounge room, which at that point was completely empty.

As the tape played on, complete silence occurred as the blue teen watched fearing yet hopefully as the image changed on the screen. He watched as it showed Mrs. Winters threw the door open and drag him inside by his arms before pushing him away from her, causing him to stumble on his own feet. The Science teacher walked up to her own desk and picked up what looked like the heaviest book she owned. She approached the boy angrily and held the book out behind her back, ready to strike.

_FSSSSSSTTTTTT_

With a sharp gasp, Sonic stared wide eyed as the T.V fizzed into grey static.

"What happened?" he cried out, standing up from his chair. He turned and stared at Robotnik, the man seemed unfazed as his mug was now tipped upside down and his coffee was slip all upon his control panel as small flicks of electric spiked out, "Oh no!" he sarcastically cried, planting a hand to his cheek, "I must have _accidently_ spilt my cup of joe! Too bad, I was enjoying that" he placed the mug back down and closed the lid to his panel. Sonic stood there, his limbs hung loosely while he shook his head slowly, a grimacing frown upon his mussel while single tears fell from his eyes. His anger started to rise as his brows furrowed and his lips trembled. "Why did you do that?" he spat lowly.

Robotnik hardly flinched, "Because like I said, we take these accusations _seriously_. We have a high standard to maintain from both Teachers and Students so it would be in our best interests to sweep all of this under the rug, don't you agree?"

Sonic said nothing, just shook from the hatred he felt towards the obese man before swallowing hard.

Robotnik wanted to take his power a bit further though, "I said Don't You Agree? Sonic?"

The blue teen hardly moved, but eventually he bitterly nodded his head knowing there was no other option. "Good, I'm glad we can see eye to eye. Now sit" the man ordered, Sonic did as he was told.

"Now with that out of the way we can move on. As you can imagine we still have the matter of you attacking Mrs. Winters to deal with" he started to explain, leaving Sonic to just sit and wallow in his own despair, "Oh so you're taking that part seriously?" the teenager laughed bitterly.

"Yes!" the Principal snapped back, leaving the hedgehog silent. "With Mrs. Winter's security camera down I got nothing to show, however a statement from the teacher herself and a classroom full of witnesses should account as proof enough I'd say" Robotnik pulled out a few forms from his top desk and placed them down in from of himself. He picked up a pen and started to fill them out, "I'm suspending you for the rest of the week. This will be added to your permanent record and will reflect badly at future placements such as work or college."

Sonic scoffed to himself, it was hardly as if he cared about that, in fact a few days off sounded perfect at this point. The only problem was-

"I do however believe the big issue here is your Uncle"

The blue hedgehog looked down shamefully. "Now we can say I've been fair to you hedgehog, I have kept a lot of your little 'Moments' quiet from him and have made sure he gets as little involved as possible when other parents have complained. Not that it was in any regard for you of course, in fact it would give me nothing but pleasure to show him that nice big folder we have containing all your previous doings, and you can be sure todays will be added to the long list" the man smiled darkly, "Charles was my co-worker for the better part of twenty years, we we're heading straight for glory with our revolutionary invention. However you came along, now he's retired and I'm stuck working in a School!"

Sonic stared at him tiredly, every time he had ended up here he always had to hear that story to the point he could quote it in his sleep. "I suggested he ignore that phone call you made to him all those years ago, he hadn't known you even existed so why should you be any concern of his? Especially as we had far too much work to get through… But your little cries of help" Robotnik mocked him, causing the fifteen year old to flinch under his stare, "_Oh help me! Save me! The people are being mean to the little mutant freak that is me_! Ahahahaha!"

As his heart beat faster, the hedgehog clutched onto his inflamed chest and tried to steady his painful breathing.

"Pathetic. I would have dumped you back the moment I got you; however that man is as soft as a pincushion. So surely after all the sacrifice's we've made for you I doubt you'd want to worry your Uncle more with your little fantasies now would you? Especially in his bad health" the man spoke with a voice that made sweet taste sower. Sonic knew what he was saying clearly and what was expected of him. Don't tell him Uncle what had happened and take the blame. Unfortunately he knew that the reason Robotnik had kept all his bullying a secret and let him go unpunished is because of the pain it would cause the elder hedgehog. This time though, it sounded like there would be an exception.

Sonic nodded his head to let the man know he understood.

"Good, I will be calling your Uncle to inform him of what you did, I will however keep the part where you tried to burn the School down firmly in the records alone"

"Oh for the love of- I did not try to burn down the School!" Sonic snapped angrily, starting to show aggression.

"Like I said, you keep your story to youself and I'll keep mine" was all the man said, Sonic sighing deeply to himself before slumping in his chair, his hand kept firmly on his chest even though the pain had started to numb, "Fine" he breathed out in defeat.

"Excellent, I like a student who cooperates. Now that that's cleared up I'll inform a nurse that you'll be coming to see her. You may leave your bag here and pick it up when you come back to sign these" he explained while waving the papers in the air. With a final nod Sonic accepted what he said and waited as the Principal made the phone call to the nurse's office. When everything was cleared the speedster left his bag in his chair and went to leave the room, his heart literally in his hands.

* * *

If his chest hadn't of hurt before then the trip to the nurse's obviously did the trick. He winced constantly as the scars upon his flesh burned under what was supposed to be a cooling patch that they had taped to him. The nurses had been friendly enough though and actually seemed concerned, but he couldn't explain to them what happened. He would have happily stayed there all day but they weren't going to let him, so he had to face Eggman once again to get his bag and sign the forms saying he had been suspended, to which he was supposed to show his Uncle. It would have been easy to through them in the bin and fake going into School, but Eggman had already made the call, and he knew hell awaited him at home.

So today he failed his Science project which lowered his chances of passing the year to a scary level, he discovered he could also react just as badly to the Chaos Emeralds as well as good as it made him try to kill the teacher, she however got her own back by giving him a horrible headache and mutilating his once handsome body, his Principal destroyed any chance he had of being saved and to top it all off he was suspended.

Now seemed like the perfect time to just give up and go home, but for some reason he felt the need to make the day worse.

So instead of heading home like he was supposed to, he stood just below the back double window of the posh manner house where his girlfriend lives and threw small little rocks at her window.

He waited a moment or two longer then the last time, but there was no answer. Yet he knew she was there by the light being on. He tried once again, but accidently threw the rock a little harder then he should have. The impact resulted in a wide crack to expand along the window frames and he suddenly backed down with his hands covering his mouth in shock.

Finally it got the girls attention as the brown chipmunk threw her curtains open and angrily saw the damage. She only wore her dressing gown but that didn't stop her from opening the none-damaged window and glaring angrily at the blue teen, "What is wrong with you?! Look what you did to my window!" she cried out.

"I-I know I'm sorry, I'll pay for the damage" Sonic called out pleadingly, Sally however was about to go back inside but Sonic stopped her, "No wait Sal, please just hear me out! I've been trying to call you all day, why weren't you in School today?"

She rolled her eyes in disgust; of course he would play the fool, "Oh I don't know, maybe I didn't feel like facing the whole School after what you embarrassingly said about me!"

Sonic stared at her questionable, "What are you talking about? I never said anything about you" but his defence was upon deaf ears, "Tell you what, how about next time you see a cute girl you take a minute to think whether she would even care about you like the way I did before you accuse me of being a slut!" and with tears falling from her eyes, she slammed the windows shut and closed her curtains.

The hedgehog stared at the closed window, his arms spread wide and confusion filling within him, "Sally! Please just talk to me! What did I say?" he shouted out to her, but his response was her light being turned out.

All day everyone had treated him differently and he didn't understand why.

Adjusting his bag on his bag, Sonic finally left his girlfriend's house, his chest hurting more than before. He continued along the pathway that lead to his house, for once not running at super speed as one it was now hurting him to do so and two he just didn't feel like going home anytime soon.

What he wanted more than anything was just to be left alone with his thoughts. All he thought though, was that surely now things just couldn't get worse right?

He felt a drip land upon his nose and he froze. Then surely enough the heavens opened and the rain fell heavily upon him.

Water… the one thing he hated more than his past.

Pulling the hood over his head he still didn't run home, but carried on his cold, wet and miserable walk. He had only wished he had a waterproof jacket on instead of the cotton scrap of clothing he wore, but he didn't so there was no point in caring.

He was near to Tails house which was along his pathway, he was tempted to knock on the door and see how the kid was doing after the project, but he had lost all track of time so he wasn't even sure if the other students would be home or not.

So he gave the house one last glance before walking pass it carelessly and carrying on with his walk of misery, his arms crossed tightly as his shivered in the cold. On the plus side of things the rain must have been easing up because he could hardly feel it pelt down upon him… yet he could see the splashes ripple across the puddles below his feet just as clear as the day once was?

Looking up over his hood with emerald eyes, Sonic saw a large pink umbrella that kept him dry. Holding it was none other than Amy Rose who smiled at him sweetly. She smartly was wearing a waterproof coat, which made him sure she had expected the rain beforehand.

However grateful to her, he smiled back… as smiled as much as he could given the circumstances, "Hey Amy… what are you doing out of School?" he asked shyly without knowing why, but she gave a small giggle which eased him slightly, "Well I'm going home obviously. I thought you would have already been back by now" she said while biting on her lip, making Sonic realise what she was referring to. "Oh… I guess you heard the good news then" he said sarcastically. "Kinda… Sorry about getting suspended" she frowned, but Sonic merely shrugged like it hardly bothered him, "Can't complain about a couple days off School right? Sides so long as I'm back for the final practice day on Monday for the game I should be okay"

Amy nodded her head in agreement. A small silence passed between the two before the teenage boy started to take the first steps towards their homes, Amy followed him by his side.

"Is it true? That you threw a chair at the teacher?" the pink girl spoke up, though it sounded like there was slight amusement in her voice. "Well yeah kinda… okay yes" he admitted but found himself wide eyed when Amy started to laugh a little, "Don't worry I don't blame you, I'm sure someone would have done it sooner or later"

"Really? Guess you're not keen on her either?" Sonic smiled feeling a little impressed by her, "Oh trust me, she gives me the creeps. Did you actually hit her?"

"No she ducked out of the way"

"Oh" the girl sighed. Sonic laughed to himself, who would have known sweet little Amy had a dark side to her. "So other than me attempting teacher target was anything else said about me today?" the blue hedgehog asked, hoping he would finally learn about why people treated him differently. Amy didn't look easy about the matter as she turned her head slightly away, "Um no not that I heard about, how come?"

Sonic shook his head, "Nothing… just a little trouble with Sally is all" he answered, Amy looked at him curiously, "Are you two having trouble?"

"Well… I don't know. But apparently I said something and-"

"Oh my gosh Sonic you're shivering! Here" she stopped him from speaking as she was unable to trust herself from confessing. So to distract him she placed her arms around his waist and rested her head upon his chest and held him tightly… to keep him warm.

The flaring of white agony rose in his chest as the burns cried out from the pressure she applied to his chest. Sonic bit down on his lip to stop himself from screaming, he wanted to act normal and to just place his arms around her, but he tensed and shook so much from her crushing grip he didn't know how much longer he could keep the pain inside.

With a snap choice, he pushed Amy away from him, the girl stumbled and stared at him with confusion while he stood alone with the rain falling upon him. She opened her mouth to ask why, but finally he used his speed and raced past her in a burst of blue light and left her in the wind.

Amy had known she was being forward, but why did he react so badly? Looking around, she thought she found her answer. A couple of school girls stood on the side rode, they pointed at laughed at her expense.

That was why Sonic had rejected her; he saw the girls and was embarrassed to be seen with her…

Amy's chest rose fiercely while hot angry tears formed in her eyes. She marched her way back to her house but pulled out her phone. Rouge had told her took logged in on Sonic's account and to never sign out, and with a few hacks from the white bat she had made it near untraceable. Amy had decided she didn't want to do this, she wasn't a bully! But Rouge was her friend now, when she didn't have any. Refusing to send that message was a big deal to her but Rouge seemed convinced she'd see things her way soon… and after now?

Amy went onto Sonic's account; he had a lot of angry messages from people. Rouge must have been using her phone today at lunch because there was a lot of new gossip going around, 'Sonic' being the source. One more couldn't hurt.

**_Getting close to scoring with Amy now, she totally grabbed me on the way home from School. Too bad those ugly Bitches Kay and Lucy were there making me wanna throw up #ThankChaosForSuperSpeed_**

* * *

The moment had come and there was no putting it off anymore. Sonic stared at the door to his house, he was no longer in the rain but he wished it would come down heavier and wash him away. With a deep breath he grabbed the handle and opened the door.

Before he even walked inside his Uncle was there, standing with his arms crossed and his foot tapping impatiently, his bushy eyebrows burrowed deeply as he was infuriated.

"Care to explain to me why I got a call from Robotnik today saying you attacked a teacher?!" the old man shouted. Sonic had hardly walked in the house, but he stayed silent when he threw his bag to the ground and close the door behind him.

"Sonic he told me you threw a chair! A CHAIR! You could have really hurt someone! What were you thinking?!" Chuck continued to yell, his anger only growing when it became apparent Sonic was ignoring him. "Why would you even do such a thing?! Not only could you have injured your teacher but to top it all off you get suspended as well? How do you expect to get into college with this on your record?"

Sonic said nothing, instead he kept his eyes to the ground and ran towards the stairs, pushing past the older hedgehog rudely. Chuck's anger finally gave out as he grabbed Sonic aggressively by his arms with strength he shouldn't have at his age, and he spun Sonic around to face his rage when he shook him on the spot, causing Sonic's breath to give out as fear over took him.

"_Don't you ever ignore me like that! For once in your life you will do as I tell you!-_" he stopped the moment he saw how scared Sonic looked at him. Quickly he calmed himself down and let go of his painful grip he had on the boy's arms. Sonic fell to the ground and Chuck realised his hold was the only thing that kept the teenager standing up. Placing a hand over his mouth, guilt took over his emotions as he watched his nephew curl himself into a ball and rest his head upon his knees. His body shook when he rocked slightly and asphyxiated.

Sonic rose his head and gripped at his quills in frustration, he groaned as the tears ran down his face once again, feeling completely hopeless and pathetic. He was such a mess, his chest hurt and he couldn't breathe. He needed his Uncle on his side, he couldn't handle him being so angry with him, he just couldn't!

And as if the old man could read his mind, he carefully sat himself down on the floor next to the sobbing teen and placed a gentle arm around him, letting Sonic rest his head on his shoulder. Chuck knew he was too soft with him, and truthfully he knew Sonic had never been properly disciplined by him. But when he found his as a young boy in that orphanage he had no real plans on taking him on. He was an inventor not a parent, he knew nothing about children. Yet when he had agreed to see Sonic, just to meet his little brother's supposed son… he was horrified to find the child bruised, cut and both his legs broken. The care worker Nack had said it was this boy at School, Sonic however said it was him. Needless to say Chuck took him home with him that very day. They spent their first week together through hospital trips. He had sent several police investigations into that orphanage, yet each time they found no evidence to suggest Nack was lying.

Knowing what his own nephew had been through, Chuck fell in love with him the moment he laid eyes on the boy, he had to save him. He made a vow to himself he would never hurt Sonic the way everyone else had, he would never make him feel scared under his care. And yet here he was crying on his shoulder, because he had lost his temper with him.

Chuck felt the teenager hold onto him, desperate for any comfort he would give as he bawled on his shoulder. The older hedgehog rubbed his arm gently and planted a small kiss on his forehead, "Come on calm down now Sonny, I didn't mean to upset you like this. I just got angry" he calmly explained, but Sonic shook his head wildly, "Y-you h-have no idea! I-I've literally had n-nothing but hell today but you wouldn't care! You just assume I was in t-the wrong!" he choked, but even though he was upset with his Uncle he held him tightly, too afraid of letting go. "I know, I'm sorry I lost my temper. I just wanted you to answer me" Chuck explained, but Sonic cried out angrily "Why did you have to grab me? You know I get scared when people do that!"

"Sonic I'm sorry, I really am. I just forgot" he sighed, knowing his answer wasn't really good enough. But Sonic finally raised his head from his shoulder and stared up at him with red sore eyes, "Try being me… you never forget!" he cried angrily before placing his head back down on his Uncle's shoulder and shivering under his guardians hold. With another sigh, Chuck knew he needed to drop the subject for now, unfortunately his time at the orphanage had left more than physical scars on the teen, he knew how easily it was for the boy to have a mental break down, even though he hid his feeling so well.

"Okay… How about we just forget about School, about the teacher and everything else for now hmm? I'll whip us up some tea and we can talk about it calmly tomorrow, seeing as you won't be going anywhere" Chuck smiled lightly, Sonic took a couple of deep breathes and seemingly calmed down a little. He nodded his head, "okay" he whispered faintly. So with one last squeeze, Chuck released his hold on the teen and pushed himself off the ground.

Sonic watched him leave before using his sleeves to wipe his tears away aggressively, now feeling more frustrated and embarrassed with himself for getting so worked up over being grabbed at. Not to mention he not only cried in front of his teacher again but in front of Eggman of all people! Even Knuckles and Tails have seen him cry now, what the heck was wrong with him lately! Everyone in the School knew he never cried, it was like his thing and now he would probably break down if someone told him they stopped serving chilly dogs at School… did he need professional help?

NO. Absolutely not! He was fine, just needed to get himself under control again.

"Don't worry Sonny you can cheer up I'm gonna be making chilly dogs" Chuck smiled widely, which that alone had a cheering effect on Sonic as the teen smiled lightly to himself, "You always know how to win me over" he laughed before pushing himself off the ground and carefully standing up.

"Well I'm not gonna ask how the project went, but you can tell me tomorrow. How about for now you get me the emerald and I'll put it away safely" the older hedgehog suggested simple, he was about to walk in the kitchen but the thought came to him and he'd rather have that seen to first. He would need it soon.

Nodding his head and feeling a lot better, Sonic walked up to his bag and picked it up. He placed his hand inside and rummaged around for a small while, moving aside his phone, books and so forth. He found it odd that he couldn't locate the box straight away, it was big enough…

His Uncle moved away from the kitchen door and looked at him with concern, "Sonic?" he questioned lightly, but with plenty of worry in his voice.

"No it's fine I have it!" the teen snapped, his breath starting to race again when he moved his hand around a bit more… but there was no box.

"No I have it!" he cried out while opening the bag wide enough for him to look inside, where he once again moved everything out of the way in his mad search.

"no…" he panicked. "no no no no no!" he fell to the floor once again and tipped his bag upside down, allowing everything to fall out in a small pile. Once the bag was empty he threw it to the side. He scattered the pile out, throwing books and papers and everything out of the way until everything was separate.

He hyperventilated as he stared at the ground, the box wasn't there.

"No… I-I had it… I put it in my bag I…" he looked up at his Uncle, who stared down at the mess Sonic had just made. There was no emotion on his face; he looked so blank and drained… he had been let down.

"Chuck…" Sonic moaned, not knowing what to do or what to say. The older hedgehog finally moved, but he turned his back and walked away to the stairs.

"Chuck!" he called out once again, but the older man ignored him as he marched to his lab room. When Sonic tried to follow him, he only got to the bottom of the stairs before Chuck had slammed the door firmly against him, locking it shut so he couldn't follow. He knew he had to get away, because if he grabbed him again he wasn't sure he would be as caring this time.

Sonic stared at the closed door, his chest burning and his heart killing him. He stared back to the scattering of papers then back to the door.

With a sharp cry he ran up the stairs but went to his own room where he threw open the door and fell down onto his bed. He grabbed his pillow and held it close to him, his face buried within and the soft material blocking out his tears. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong with this day had multiplied by a thousand and crash landed on top of him. The one thing he thought he had done right was bringing that emerald back to his Uncle. It was the crown and glory of his past work, his biggest achievements and Sonic stupidly thought he could look after it!

He didn't deserve his Uncles trust, he didn't deserve Sally, he didn't deserve anything but he got!

For the first time in years he hated everything he was and wanted to die!

There was no way to make this right, the emerald could have fallen out of his bag at any point, when he was at Sally's or walking with Amy… if it fell out at School then there was no way someone handed it in to Lost and Found… the only other thing was…

Did someone take it?

* * *

Sitting on his marvellous lounge chair, Robotnik happily put his feet up in front of the roaring fire in his living room, happily enjoying the comforts his home gave him. In one hand he held a glass of cherry while in the other were some very old blue prints for a machine he had designed so many years ago when he was younger and more ambitious. The plans he had made were far too complicated to design, there was simply not enough power to control them, so Chuck had wisely told him to scrap them. Looking at the prints now however, he saw several areas where he could make this machine even better…

With a mechanical smile, he stared at the small box that rested on his side table, inside shone the most beautiful of gems and it's power radiated with everything mechanic in his home, which was everything.

Well now… what could be more powerful then a Chaos Emerald?

* * *

**No you understand why I didn't want to write it all in the last chapter, phew!**

**Anyway hope you guys liked and please leave me some reviews because they are the kicks I need to get my butt into story mode WHOO!**

**Till next chapter! xxx**


	12. Seeing the Principal

**Okay not a totally long chapter this time but it was taking ages. Again thank you all for the reviews, I got some really nice ones and they made me happy so thank you, please keep it up ^^**

**Again sorry for any miss wording and spelling errors, I'll proof read... one day.**

**On with the chapter and hope you enjoy.**

* * *

For once the world felt as if it was in total bliss. Nothing could feel as comfortable as the soft bedding that Sonic nested himself in, his head lay deep in his pillow that was stuffed with soft feathers. There was no disturbance, the annoying sound of his alarm never went off that morning, and neither did his Uncle come in to push him out of the bed. Instead he had the chance to simply lie there, the sun shining through his window keeping him warm as his body rose up and down slightly from his soft breathing. He wasn't asleep at this point though, he had woken up ages ago when the dawn broke out, but for the first time it felt in his life he was far too tired to leave the bed. He loved to sleep past the alarm but he never stayed in bed for more than half an hour, there was far too much he could be doing instead. So today he himself was a little surprised that despite waking up at dawn, he had yet to actually get out of bed and it was near 12 o'clock.

He never bothered to open his eyes, or else he might have gone on his phone for a bit, it was a miracle it was still in his possession. He expected his Uncle to have taken it away from him along with seventy other punishments, but Chuck hadn't spoken to him since he lost the emerald.

This was the first time he had ever been like this, normally if he got angry he would just let it go after a while, he's never ignored him for this long before. Last night a few hours after Sonic had ran to his room he had fallen asleep, only to wake up near midnight from another nightmare. He had wanted his Uncle then so badly, but he wasn't humble enough to go to him, so spent the night afraid and alone.

Even now, he had expected his Uncle to just walk in to see if he was okay, after all he never spent the day in bed; wouldn't he be worried even a little? But his Uncle never came, didn't check up on him or anything. Sonic was grateful for the lack of disturbance but the lack of his Uncle's care also hurt him. He felt so miserable and that alone made him stay in bed.

However if he had to be truthful, he was starving right now.

He hadn't eaten in ages and now his peaceful silence was replaced with the growls his stomach erupted. He really wanted Chuck to walk in with a plate full of chilly dogs, if the man was a mind reader then he would have done it, but he knew that wasn't going to happen.

Truthfully he didn't know what was going to happen, would his Uncle ever forgive him?

A vibration from under his pillow snapped him back to his senses and grudgingly he opened one of his eyes. With a moan he moved from his extremely comfy position and grabbed his phone. He rubbed his eyes before looking at the screen to see who was trying to call him, it was Tails?

With a tired curiosity, he answered the call.

"Hello" he mumbled, only to realise he wasn't just hungry but thirsty as well, his throat practically scratched when he spoke and when he placed a hand to his neck from the pain it felt like something inside was swollen.

Tails picked up on it instantly, "_Are you okay Sonic? You don't sound very good_"

"Wha? No I'm fine honest… I'm just not feeling so great" he admitted, his eyes feeling heavy as he rested them once again, ready to just fall asleep.

"_Is that why you're not in today? Everyone said you got suspended_"

His attention started to pick up a little; so everyone's been talking about him? "Well… both I guess. Are people saying anything else?" It wasn't exactly subtle, but he was far too tired to care.

"_Um… no not that I heard_" the young fox mumbled, he didn't fully believe he was being truthful though. So instead of an actual reply he huffed to himself, leaving Tails silent for an awkward moment.

"_So um… I was wondering… do you want to come to my house today? You know like hang out?_"

Sonic felt himself snort, only this time not because of the pure notion that the kid had of inviting him, but because Tails was still so shy to him. Tiredly he rubbed at his eyes and gave a soft moan as he started to wake a little more, "Sorry kiddo… I'm just not feeling up to it. Sides I'm kinda grounded for the rest of my life" he laughed.

"_Oh… do you want me to come to yours_?"

He raised his brow at momentarily stared at the phone as if he could see Tails through the screen, had the kid never been grounded before?

"Hey I'm happy you coming over but I'm not sure if Unc will be happy about it" he sighed, his eyes drifting down slowly as he continued on the thought chain he was having about Chuck before his phone rang. He closed his eyes wanting to be swallowed up in his blankets; he felt nothing but guild drill through him and it added to his nausea.

"_It's okay, he's at the School now so I can ask him now_"

"WHAT?!" Sonic screamed while lurching his whole body up from the bed, his eyes startled and wide and sleep being an unconsidered memory. "Why is he at School!?"

* * *

Sitting with his legs crossed and his elbow resting upon the desk, Chuck watched wearily as the bigger man walked from across the room with two steaming cups in his hands. He placed one down for the old hedgehog that thanked him before taking a sip then sat down on his own chair.

"It's bad enough that he lost the Chaos Emerald, but to go as far as attacking his Teacher? I just don't understand where this suddenly came from. He's normally so well behaved at home and you've never had a reason to complain to me about anything before" the old man started to explain his poor defence for his nephew. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he never noticed the eye roll Robotnik gave at the mention of having nothing to complain about. There was so much wanted to tell him, laughing at the man broke down at how much of a brat Sonic truly was, but like everything else he knew all good things come to those who wait. "Well we're keeping a full investigation open for that emerald but as for Sonic, as much of a model student he may be-" he felt irritated by just saying that "- Sonic pulled a stunt that is not to be taken lightly. Not only could it have actually hurt Mrs. Winters had she actually been hit, but just think about the other students. What if one of them had been hurt? How would that be explained to their parents?... not to mention the paperwork" he slyly added under his breath.

Chuck placed his head into his open hand and groaned, "I know Robotnik, I just don't know what's gotten into him. I feel like something is going on but he won't talk to me about it, he just keeps saying he's okay and nothing is wrong" instead of drinking his coffee he started to just swirl it in the cup, a habit he often did when he was deep in thought, normally it only occurred when he was brain storming though.

There was a small cold sweat that fell down Robotnik's forehead but he quickly wiped it away with his gloved hand, "Bah, I'll tell you what the problem is, you spoil that kid too much! He's probably annoyed because you didn't buy him the latest computerized game or whatever you call those things" he said while waving his hand in dismissal "the likelihood is he's sulking and taking it out on everyone else."

Chuck frowned at the obese man for his lack of interest in the situation, "Robotnik I'm being serious, I'm genuinely concerned about him!" he huffed. The human man however disregarded it, "And I'm concerned about the reputation of my School! If this got out I'd have the Ministers of Education on my backside quicker than it takes me to brush my moustache. What we need to do is get that pest under control"

"What we need to do is find out what the problem is and resolve it!" Chuck snapped back, clearly unhappy by the man's priorities, but Robotnik wasn't pleased either, he rubbed his temples and groaned deeply. "What a mess… Don't you remember the good old days where our troubles went as far as finishing an invention before a deadline?" he smiled with his hands crossing over his large stomach while leaning back into his chair seemingly lost in his thoughts at that point.

Chuck didn't resist the smile, they were good memories. There was so much history between the two it didn't matter how much they disagreed with each other, they could always carry on as if nothing had been said, they had always been great friends. "I must admit, I do miss it. Like the time we borrowed the King's crown for an experiment and we accidently blew it up" he chuckled.

"Haha, yes and in the end we blamed it on that Dave the intern guy. He was too much of a suck up anyways" The two men sighed lightly to themselves and Chuck lightly shook his head as he mused, "We had a lot of good stories to tell people."

Robotnik huffed to himself, "We could create more you know" he offered with a large grin under his brown nose hair. Chuck looked at him questionably before brushing him off as being foolish, "No… no. I'm retired now, I've done my bit for society and put my two pennies in" he answered, but the human pushed on "Oh come on, we have so much work left to do! Think about all we could build with the more recent technology that's available, even if we did build most of it"

The elderly hedgehog shook his head more firmly, "No I couldn't, I have Sonic to think of"

He was interrupted as the man let out an angry growl before leaning on his desk aggressively, "The kid is old enough to look after himself! Besides it's not as if we'll be working 24 hours throughout the day again!" he tried to argue, but he wasn't getting the response he wanted, "You know as well as I do that when we get into the job we don't stop until it's finished. Something is going on with Sonic and I am not going to just ignore that because you're sick of running a School!" he said while standing up from his seat, ready to leave if the argument took that turn.

"Yeah okay, fine! I am sick of this dump. I thought this would have been a good idea but it's more tedious then cleaning out my robots motor oil. But what do you expect? We were on the verge of greatness! Wealth! Complete and total power over everyone! And you gave it up due to a letter from you so called 'Nephew' and abandoned everything!"

"Well what did you expect me to do? Huh? Just leave him to be beaten to death? The poor thing couldn't even walk! And that machine should never have even been thought of! It was nothing more than a plea for war" he fort back, both men now glaring eye to eye. "There was no guarantee that that brat was even related to you in the first place! Your brother never told you he had kids and he died when the boy would have been five years old! And that Cry for War was by far none of our concern. We could have sold it to the highest bidder and enjoyed the rest of our lives rich and in bliss of what it was being used for. We would have had it made!" Robotnik shouted, finally standing up from his chair and looming over the hedgehog, though unlike his nephew he was nowhere near intimidated by such actions.

"He is the only family I had left and it was thanks to that machine that my brother _is_ dead!" he paused for a moment to see if the words would strike something in Robotnik, but nothing was seen on the outside, "He was injured, your brother was dead either way. But we didn't have the knowledge we have now. We can improve the Robotersizer by 100% I've been looking over our blue prints and I know where we went wrong-" he gestured like he was about to go into an elaborate explanation but this time Chuck raised his hand to stop him from talking, "I am not interested in anything to do with that… weapon! We were wrong to even think of such a thing. I'm ashamed you would even think of attempting to rebuild it."

"And I'm ashamed you gave up on it for something as pathetic as a crying child" the round man spat. They had both been known to bicker before, spending so much time with someone will only lead to that, but now it was past the point of laughing it off and reminiscing about the past. That was the reason they started this fight.

With his brow lowered deeply and his anger remaining calm and dignified, Chuck took his seat once again and drank the rest of his coffee, "I believe we've gone off topic Principle Robotnik" he used formal addressing to show this was no longer a discussion between friends. So with a glare of hatred the principal sat back down as well and locked his fingers together before the hedgehog continued, "Something is going on with Sonic. I moved him from his last School because of that kid Shadow. I think this is happening again and I want it dealt with promptly and firmly" he spoke as if offering his terms in a business deal, each man holding his own poker face in place and not letting any emotion show through. "Oh don't worry Charles; I'm positive there's a bully going round this School. And I promise you… I will give him what he deserves" he finished with his lips curling up into a menacing smile that exposed his grinding teeth as the starting of villainous laughter poured through them.

* * *

_"WHAT!? Why is he at the School!?"_

Tails held the phone away from his large ear and groaned at the sudden uncomfortable vibration that rang through them. His hands went instantly to massage them as he tried to shake the pain off. "I-I'm not sure, I just saw him walk in before-" he went silent and turned to look at the bell that rang loudly throughout the entire School building. Instantly teenagers much older than him grouped up and walked towards the doors.

"Look Sonic the bell rang so I'll call you later okay? Bye" with that he placed his phone back in his bag before quickly turning around and running towards the School. He only stopped when his big blue eyes went wide when they laid upon the adult he was hoping to see. So instead of going back to class, he ran towards the older hedgehog who walked slowly with his head fixated to the ground.

"Hey! Mister Hedgehog!" Tails called out to grab his attention which sure enough worked as the man looked for him. As it was though Tails was a small fox within a crowed of much taller teenagers, so whenever he jumped or waved his arms around in the air, the old man just wasn't able to see him. So decided to shrug it off and walk away.

Gasping in the worry of losing sight of the man, Tails acted quickly and spun his two twin tails together creating his own personal helicopter and used them to fly above the crowds of teens and land firmly behind the older hedgehog. "Hey Sir. Charles!" he cried out once again. Finally Chuck turned around and smiled when he finally saw who was calling him, "Oh Tails nice to see you" he offered, though it looked only half hearted. "Hi Sir… ugh…" Tails felt himself grow nervous as his hands started to fiddle together while his tails curled between his legs. "I ugh…" why was talking so hard? He'd met this man before, even if he is his biggest idol in the whole world. He could see the inventor was getting impatient as he tapped his foot on the ground and waited with a raised brow. So Tails just went for it, "Um… Would it be okay if I see Sonic today? I wanna know if he's okay" he mumbled shyly, swaying his body side to side like he was asking for candy with a grin on his face.

Chuck's face softened as a smile made its way to his lips, "Well that's very kind of you Tails but I'm afraid he's having the day off from his big social life" he explained kindly, much to the foxes disappointment. "Oh… okay" he sighed.

Chuck was about to take his leave and say a goodbye, but a sudden thought came to him, "Tails you know what goes on around here, would you say Sonic was having any problems with any of the students?" he asked. Tails was slightly taken aback, not really expecting to be asked such a responsible question. He placed his hand to his mussel and thought for a moment, "I-I suppose there's a lot of people who has a problem with him…" he said trying to be careful with his words, but the worried look on the older man's face made him feel he said something wrong.

"Wait you mean a lot of people are bullying him?" he pushed wanting a straight answer, but Tails looked ready to panic, "Oh no no no no! No Sonic is fine! No one would be brave enough to try and bully him!" he blurted out. But Chuck froze at his words "… what?"

Eyes darting wildly, Tails looked back at the School building pleadingly "I'm sorry b-but I got to get to class. Bye!" he cried out before turning tail and running towards the doors, sending a large wave over his shoulder before disappearing into the building and leaving Chuck to think upon what he was told… and not wanting to believe it.

* * *

Pulling into the driveway Chuck had nothing prepared for when he walked into the house. The likelihood was that Sonic was up and awake, though he was concerned at how late the boy had actually stayed in bed for before he left.

Getting out of the car, he locked the door before walking to his patio. For the first time he genuinely wasn't prepared. He didn't know if he should ask about it? Make the assumption and force a confession or ignore it because his only source was an eight year old?

He opened the door and placed his keys into the small bowl that was upon the sideboard. He sighed as he knew it was now the time to deal with… whatever. He could hear the sound of footsteps walking back and forth from inside the living room, so with curiosity he walked to the entrance way and stood with his nephew in plain sight. There were a couple of cushions thrown to the floor, probably because Sonic was running around the house maybe, but he was walking back and forth across the room with his arms crossed over and holding himself far too tightly on his covered up body for Chuck's liking. The poor boy was practically shaking he was so frantic.

Clearing his throat lightly, he caught Sonic's attention as the speedster's head snapped towards him. With a sharp gasp he cried out "Chuck!" and he dashed to him. The older hedgehog hardly had time to brace himself as the smaller body crashed into him, arms wrapping around his chest as he held him tightly, burying his face into the nook of his neck.

He wasn't sure if Sonic was crying or not this time, it didn't sound like it but he was trembling so badly he could feel it affecting himself. He placed a light hand upon his quills and held his arm gently, not knowing what had brought this on, "Sonic?"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry for everything please! Please…" he breathed out almost fearful, his voice sounding harsh and gritty from too much strain over the past few days. He could hear from his shallow breathes that he was struggling to hold back his tears, but this time he was successful. He sniffed a couple of times before pulling his head up to match with his Uncles, but he kept his eyes close not wanting to see how he felt, "What.. did… Robotnik say?" he asked, sniffing back after each word.

Chuck frowned sadly. He gently cupped Sonic's face in his hand and used his thumb to brush away the one tear that got away. Sonic finally opened his eyes and saw that his Uncle wasn't angry with him at all, but instead was smiling with sympathy, "Nothing… Everything is going to be okay". Then surprisingly his Uncle pulled him back into his arms and hugged him, letting Sonic lean his heavy head on his shoulder while the old man stroked his quills.

Sonic was nothing more than a big kid, ready to have fun but always wanting parental comfort, the things he never got as an actual child. Why wouldn't he? Chuck knew that no matter what Robotnik, Tails or anyone else said, they had to be wrong. Sonic had a heart of gold, he could never hurt anyone.

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**Huh... not much plot detail but yay Chuck's not mad at Sonic anymore, so that's one less thing for our blue hero to worry about.**

**Please tell me what you think and what you're hoping to read happening in future chapters :D**


	13. The SpaceBook Problem

**Well I've been gone a while, but I'm back and ready to get on with the story! It's going to be so long if I keep at this pace it will take 5 years to finish.**

**So last chapter a few people said they felt it was rushed, I'm sorry about that but I was just wanting it up and done with really. Hopefully this will make up for it because it's a long chapter. Not much happens but I know it contains a few things people wanted to see, so hopefully it will keep you on your toes.**

**Sorry for any spelling blah blah blah**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter ^^**

* * *

Standing in the bathroom that was only accessible by his bedroom Sonic was completely soldem. He stood tall, unmoving and tense. His favourite red jacket was held within his hands, resembling nothing more then a piece of rag as he had no regard to fold it properly or even put it down. His normally vibrant emerald eyes would dazzle as he checked out his reflection; handsome as always he often thought while clicking his tongue behind his teeth and pretending he was talking to a group of girls. This was usually a morning routine, one he found amusing until his Uncle walked in on him and he had to explain his vain actions. Today though, he had avoided explaining to his Uncle the real reason he got suspended, well the reason Eggman chose to believe. His eyes didn't dazzle when he looked back at his reflection in the mirror this time. The golden frame held within its edges a teenage hedgehog with dull green eyes, quills messy and out of place, skin that had paled from the past week alone, and horrible burns upon his chest, bruises on his shoulders and scars on his back.

Sonic finally dropped the jacket from his trembling hands. He approached the mirror slowly, starting to believe that it was someone else looking back, someone horrid and ugly baring the scars of peoples hatred towards him.

His eyes fell to the burns on his chest, they had scabbed over with a large yellow blister settling in the middle of each one. There were about seven or so, they didn't have any particular order to them, just wherever she had thought was best. Around every blister the skin had become irritated to the point the whole of his chest was raw… disgusting.

Sonic's fingers traced around the burns, the swollen puss filled blisters that stood out too well. His eyes rose up until he stared once again at his own face, his drained almost lifeless face. His chest rose heavily the more he stared, the more reality started to hit down on him. His brows furrowed upwards when he finally noticed the dark black circles under his eyes, lining his mussel. His other hand rose to the circles, tracing them lightly as his mouth started to become a gap, finally taking in what was happening to himself.

He winced when feeling the lump rise in his throat, his eyes closing tight while his hand reached up to clutch the quills on his head. The corners of his lips pulled deeply, unable to take back any control of himself. The breakdown of cries that he desperately tried to hold back surfaced and he hardly contained himself as tears fell from his eyes. His arms wrapped around his waist and he keeled over half way, the urge to be sick becoming strong.

He didn't need to look in the mirror to remember how bad his back still was, the scars and bruises that covered every inch of him, but now even the front of him looked defiled and ruined.

He breathed sharply and painfully, he tried so hard not to make a sound. His Uncle had trusted him to go back to bed while he went into his study. Sonic knew that if his Uncle heard him like this he would come running up and he would see how bad he really was. So to make sure no sound was made, Sonic placed a hand over his own mouth and sat himself down on the side of the bath. His breath hitching as he wanted nothing more than to scream.

He was so ugly now! He looked like a monster, how was anyone ever going to accept him for this? He couldn't even explain to people what was really going on, nor could he think of any lie that would justify this. It wasn't fair! Girls loved him for how handsome he was, the most popular guys in the School were jealous of him! His looks were so natural he hardly worked for it. He was invited to every party, girls actually fight with each other just to dance with him.

Now he was nothing more than a freak! The freak they made him out to be years ago…

"It's not fair!" With sudden rage, Sonic's hand lashed out and grabbed a hold of anything he could reach and threw the object into the mirror. The sound of glass shattering into pieces before dropping to the floor, each as delicate as rain drops, made him gasp.

Sonic was frozen as he stared at the glass on the floor, he breathed heavily as he felt the sense of satisfaction but started to worry over Chucks sure reaction. Pausing a moment to listen for his Uncle, it seemed like the elder hedgehog hadn't heard a thing. So he slowly kneeled down to the floor and pulled his trash can closer towards his reach. He carefully picked up each little piece, putting the smaller shards in his gloved hand before placing them in the bin.

Some of the pieces were so small that he didn't notice a tiny piece of glass, no bigger than a stone on the gravel, had stuck to his glove. His eyes still felt irritated from tears that were drying up, but before picking up more glass he rubbed at his eye.

"Agh!" he gasped and quickly pulled his hand away from his face, only to notice a small trail of blood upon the side of his glove. With a trembling hand Sonic picked up the biggest of the shards and carefully held it up. He saw his reflection once again, his dull eyes wide and worried as he scanned the triangular shaped glass, searching for the damage. He noticed that along his cheek near his eye a small cut had been made and a thin line of blood trailed down his mussel, following the lines of his dried up tears.

Shaking his head he sighed in relief, it wasn't as bad as he had thought. Placing down the shard, he took off his gloves and put them in the sink, not wanting to risk getting more glass caught in them. He grabbed some toilet paper and ran it under the cold tab before placing the makeshift item upon his small injury.

He sat back down in his previous spot on the side of the bath. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, ignoring the stinging sensation that ran below his eye.

So many thoughts ran through his mind that he couldn't pick out just one to worry about. So he ignored them all, he ignored everything. He had lost almost all control in his life he just didn't know how to answer any of his worries.

He had nothing anymore… he lost so much.

Opening his eyes, the first thing Sonic saw was the glass on the floor, in particularly the large shard that he held moments ago. He never blinked, his bloodshot eyes too fixated on it.

His mind started to feel empty, far too empty. Everything looked black and white to him now as he slowly leaned down, reached out his hand and gently took a hold of the broken glass. The wet tissue from his face dropped to the floor carelessly, he held the glass in both his hands. He just stared at it, no thoughts in his mind, no emotion in his eyes, just a state of nothing as he trailed its edges carefully, transfixed as it glistened in the dark of the room.

Then as if it was suddenly natural for him to do so, as if it was what was expected… he held out his wrist…

_Knock, knock, knock_

With a startled cry the glass in Sonic's hand flew to the ground. The sudden surprise caused the blue hedgehog to fall backwards clumsily into the bathtub with only his legs hanging over the edge.

Shaking his head from the cloudiness he suddenly felt, his eyes went wide as he listened out for the sound again, unsure if he was losing his mind at this point. But shortly the small taps happened again.

With a raised brow and trembling curiosity, Sonic wiggled himself and grunted when trying to adjust himself. He had to bring his legs into the bath and push himself up from there, trying not to slip on anything. When finally stable he climbed out the bath and headed towards the door, only to suddenly stop the moment his fingers touched the handle.

He heard the tapping once again, but he gasped when he realised his scars and burns were exposed at this point. Knowing he had to be quick, Sonic ran to his jacket on the floor and shook it out several times to make sure it was glass free. When he was satisfied he pulled it over his head and put his arms in the sleeves, but he found himself frozen when the sleeve rolled up. His eyes fixated on the bare skin below his gloveless hands, his wrist feeling cold and itchy. He grasped it with his other hand, the reality of the way his mind was pulling him now sinking in as to what he almost did to himself.

Deep breath's raked through his chest while he could feel his hands shake together. He wanted so badly to just run, run away from this damn city and go anywhere else. Sonic bit down on his lip and shut his eyes tight, anxiety was filling his stomach to the point he wasn't sure if he could keep his lunch down anymore. But with a sudden burst of adrenalin he screamed out with nothing but anger, he pulled his arms away from each other and grabbed at his quills as screams turned into frustrated growls.

Seething through his teeth he opened his eyes once again and shook his head wildly. "No!" he cried, "No! You're completely fine! There's nothing wrong with you, stop being such a _freak_!"

The tapping outside his bathroom caught him off guard as he was suddenly reminded of why he stopped what he was doing. A chill ran down his spine and he tried to fix himself up as much as he possibly could. It was probably just his Uncle but he was the last person he wanted to show himself to like this.

"Just act normal… stop crying!" he hissed beneath his breath. Then as if nothing had ever changed in his life he held his head up high, put of a small smile and opened the bathroom door to walk in his room.

The first thing Sonic did was yelp in shock and fall to the ground as his legs gave way. With his eyes wide and heart pounding he stared at his window. He had expected the knock to be from his door not the window, yet what he saw was a young yellow fox holding a bashful grin on his face.

Pushing himself off the ground quickly Sonic ran to the window and pushed the bottom frame up to remove the gap between the two. "Tails! What are you doing here?" he cried in a whisper as if someone might suddenly hear him and be concerned. He looked down outside to see how the kid was even up here, but there was no ladder or anything like that, just the fox twirling his two tails around like a propeller that kept him hovering in the air.

With a raised brow he looked at him bizarrely "We have a door you know" he remarked.

"Sorry, b-but your Uncle said I couldn't visit you… so I had to be sneaky" Tails explained while rubbing the back of his neck.

Looking over his shoulder to check the cost was clear, Sonic stepped out the way and allowed the young boy to fly himself into the room and place his LighSpeed shoes on solid ground before Sonic shut the window.

Tails smiled slightly as he dropped his bag to the floor, he looked around the room casually even though he had seen it before, but when Sonic walked towards him his eyes laid upon the much older teen's muzzle, specifically under his eye. "Are you okay? You're bleeding!" he cried out while pointing to the small trail of blood that had stopped flowing. Sonic placed his fingers along the cut and pulled back to see the red stain that was on his skin, "It's nothing Tails, just a nick when I was shaving" he shrugged appearing to not even care. Tails seemingly relaxed as he breathed a small breath, "Oh good, I was worried for a second" he laughed, "I didn't know you shaved?"

With a slight flush to his cheeks, Sonic remembered that shaving wasn't exactly a cool thing to do as most animals didn't have to deal with that embarrassment, so he gave a carefree smile and brushed the kid off with his hand, "Hey you've seen my Uncle, runs in the family. Anyways, so what you doing here?" he coughed, changing the subject quickly.

"Oh right, umm, well I wanted to see if you were okay really" he shyly said, placing his hands behind his back and his eyes drifting to the floor.

A playful grin suddenly made its way upon Sonic's lips as he strolled to his bedside and sat down, "Reeeally? You never thought to just give me a call?" he laughed. Tails stood for a moment nervously but then decided to walk a bit closer to the bedside, "Well… I called you before and you said you were ill, and then your Uncle said the same thing. I thought it might have been connected to the Chaos Emerald so if you wanted I could take a look at it and see if the radiation is having an effect on…" Tails quickly closed his mouth and said nothing more when Sonic quickly looked away from him, his eyes full of shame and frown deep upon his muzzle.

"S-Sonic… W-what's wrong?" he stammered, panicked that he had said something stupid to the hedgehog, but Sonic just barely moved his head, "No Tails..." he breathed deeply before bringing his feet up on the bed and resting his arms on his knees, "I lost the Chaos Emerald."

"What?!" the fox was at such a loss for words that he fell forward and placed his hands out to catch himself on the bed, "How? How could you lose the Emerald? It was with you the whole time!" he started to cry loudly, but Sonic shushed him down reminding him that his Uncle was actually home and might have heard.

"Sorry" Tails whispered, he suddenly looked sadly at the older teen feeling like he had just showed himself up, "So what are you gonna do?"

"What can I do?" he sighed, "I just don't understand, it was with me the whole time and I never left my bag anywhere."

"Are you sure?"

Pausing for a moment, Sonic bit down on his lip as he started to think back to the day before, "I… I really don't know, the whole day is fussy to me now, I can hardly remember a thing" he moaned while running his hand along his mess of quills, fingers getting tangled in limp strands that reminded him he needed to take a shower soon, no matter how much he hated water.

Silence fell between the two boys, and where Tails watched Sonic observingly, Sonic kept his eyes firmly to the ground.

"I-If you want… we could go look for it?" the shy voice spoke up, causing the hedgehog's ear to twitch slightly. "What in School? Do you honestly think if anyone found a Chaos Emerald they'd give it to the lost and found? It's more likely to end up on SpaceBook…"

He stopped, his lips pressed together and eyes widened. His head snapped to the young fox whose eyes were just as wide, as if a light had just flickered on in both their minds.

Without a word they both pushed themselves away from their current positions and ran to the computer. Sonic took the seat while Tails stood beside him with hands resting on his chair. The screen flickered to life, and much to their irritation a request for a password popped up.

"Damn it!" Sonic grunted with his fist pounding on his desk, "I need to ask my Unc what the new password is! I'm supposed to be ill I can't be on my computer, he's mad enough as it is."

The hedgehog furiously placed his head in his hands and glared at the request that blocked him from finding the emerald. Tails however took two seconds to look around in case someone could see him, a habit he had adopted, and then he moved closer and took the keyboard in his own hands.

"What are you doing?"

"It's a little trick I learned, I can hack into any account using my own password" the child briefly explained, his eyes never leaving the keypad as his fingers glided across the letters until eventually "And done!" he announced.

Sonic smiled as the welcome sign soon took over the password request and finished with his account loaded and ready to use, "Impressive" he smirked, causing the eight year to blush bashfully.

"Now I can just go on my profile and see if anyone's put anything on about Emeralds… or me" Sonic laughed lightly to himself, taking a hold of his mouse and clicking on the SpaceBook icon. Tails didn't watch him this time though, his eyes had been drawn further down towards the hedgehogs feet where he saw the old trunk filled with papers and unwanted junk… and the thing he wanted.

He looked over at Sonic who was logging into his account, his face was so close to the screen it hardly seemed like he would even notice if Tails had left, or if he moved… or if he took something.

Thinking quickly Tails knocked his hand out to the small cup that held nothing but pens and pencils and jumped as the scattered on the floor. "Opps! Sorry, I'll clean that up" he announced before falling to his knees to pick them up. Sonic watched him for a second before shrugging his shoulders, "Whatever" he huffed before looking back at the screen and proceeded to scroll down the countless information all his fellow students uploaded.

Tails picked up all the pencils and pens quickly; he glanced to be sure Sonic wasn't watching him. His face started to flush and his hands trembled when they reached out slowly and quietly for his bag, which he dragged to his side.

Now was the hard part.

Checking once again he was in the clear he quietly opened the trunk, cringing as it clicked upon, but Sonic didn't look.

Nothing that Tails did registered as odd to Sonic, he was so engrossed in what he was reading, all the comments that were left and the arguments he was having with people, and the seventy nine notifications he was left with.

"Tails… TAILS!" he cried desperately.

A harsh bump came from under his desk before a panicked fox emerged from the ground, rubbing his head while looking like a caught convict, "What is it?"

"Look at this!" he spat when grabbing the kids head in his own large hand forcing the fox to look at the screen in front of him. Tails pulled his face away and rubbed at his muzzle, but he read the different messages that were on the website, and they were all from Sonic.

"Oh my gosh…" he mumbled as he read message after message.

Published for everyone to see, 'Sonic' had shared some pretty dark secrets of his fellow students.

**_Donna and Key broke up… guess which one was gay._**

**_Hannah ain't keeping the baby guys, opps I mean she had a bad stomach right?_**

_**Getting close to scoring with Amy now, she totally grabbed me on the way home from School. Too bad those ugly Bitches Kay and Lucy were there making me wanna throw up #ThankChaosForSuperSpeed**_

_**Will the Ugly skanks, you know who you are (Sally) please learn that I have no interest in getting an infection, I only give them ;)**_

"Why… Why would you write this?" Tails cried out, he felt his heart race just from reading all the gossip and abuse online, the more he scrolled down the worse they seemed to get. With every status he had hundreds of comments, swearing at him, threatening him, telling him they would murder him while other people jumped in and ask to get in on it.

Tails slowly looked towards Sonic, worried as if he had suddenly transformed into the monster he appeared to be online. But all he saw was Sonic for who he truly was, the person he had tried to hide from the world. The hedgehog sat there as his body shook, his lips quivered and he stared at the screen sadly. "I didn't" he breathed quietly, his eyes never leaving the comments.

_I will kill u u spineless arrogant piece of dirt_

_U rly think any1 cares bout u? Wed b happyer if u were DEAD!_

_ You think running fast makes you such a hot shot huh? Just wait till after School tomorrow, we'll grab you and rip you up limb from limb freak boy!_

"I didn't write any of this… I-I don't understand… they were my friends" his voice broke as he spoke, nothing but questions ran through his head, spinning and spinning until his stomach churned once more making him what to be sick.

Tails now understood Sonic perfectly, after years of being the victim, putting up with the insults, taking the occasional blow, picking up his papers again and again as they were knocked from his hands. He understood Sonic now, he wasn't a bully, he was afraid.

As a former victim he should have felt happy, felt the sense of justice being served, but as a friend he just felt pity. So for the first time in their friendship Tails finally felt comfortable to place his hands gently on the hedgehogs shoulders and lean his head down on his in comfort, "I'm your friend"

His breath hitched at the child's words and hated himself that little bit more for becoming vulnerable. Clearing his throat loudly Sonic grabbed Tails hands and pushed him away, leaving Tails feeling rejected. He stood up from the chair and walked to the other side of his room, breathing deeply and rubbing his temple when the swelling pain pounded within.

Tails crossed his arms and watched nervously as the hedgehog had his back turned to him, unsure how the older one was going to react as he was always unpredictable. But to his surprise Sonic just sniffed loudly, rubbed at his face, and then marched back quickly to his computer with anger in his eyes.

"I got to put an end to this!" he announced while clicking on his account settings. Tails looked questioningly at him, "Are you gonna say something to them-?"

Sonic snapped, "What am I supposed to do huh? Put a message on saying 'Oh hey guys, someone hacked my account so magically that just makes everything go away right?' Who's going to believe that? Everyone will think I'm just pretending so they'd stop hating me!"

He was talking so angrily, but Tails could easily see there was panic in his eyes, more fear then he wanted to show. "But what about the Chaos Emerald?" he pointed out, only for Sonic to roll his eyes, "Who cares about the stupid Chaos Emerald? Tails someone has managed to turn the whole School against me, my whole reputation is at stake here."

"Yeah but… I thought you'd of wanted to find it for Charles"

"Do you have any idea how my Uncle will react is he sees this? He goes on my accounts all the time, he has all the passwords, he checks up on me GAHH!" Sonic gripped both his ears as panic started to take over every nerve in his body. "He wouldn't believe me… Tails he'll think this was all me! It would kill him! I got to get rid of this once and for all!"

So with that he made the final move and clicked on the Delete Account option that he had been staring at for the past moment.

His account was no longer accessible, and Sonic finally relaxed into his chair. "What about all the rumours though? People still think you wrote that stuff"

Sonic shook his head for once not actually caring as he started to feel drowsy again, something else his Uncle was forcing him to go to the doctors about along with his regular check-ups. He rubbed at his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, "Well… Jet's having a party next week after the big game, so I'll just talk to a couple of people, find someone to blame and then it will go around the whole School I'm still awesome and someone else take the fall."

Tails cringed a little at what he said, but he was too nervous to say anything against it, all he could do was hope things would return to normal now that the account was finally deleted.

* * *

"No No NOO!" Amy shouted angrily at the small pink phone that she crushed in her hands.

"What's up with pinkie?" Mina leaned over the table in their small booth and questioned to the white bat who was sat next to the young hedgehog. She shrugged and watched the girl with a raised brown and sipped at her cup of coffee. "What's up Sugah?" Bunnie finally spoke up after bravely placing her hand upon the angry girls arm, taking her attention from the phone to the girl who was normally Sonic's friend.

"It's not working!" she cried out, hitting a couple more buttons again.

"You mean no one was responding to Knuckles having secret ballet dancing lessons? I'd of thought that would have made it into Newsfeed" Mina laughed, but the other girls shot her down quickly for it.

"No I mean the phone! The website, it's not letting my post go through. Rouge look at it" Amy whined before handing the phone over to the bat girl.

"Well girl you have been on ah little anger fest the past few hours, you probably wore your phone out" Bunnie suggested, string her spoon in her drink as she spoke. "Ha! You blame me? Sonic left me alone, in the rain AGAIN! I'm gonna destroy that guy and make him pay for everything he did to me!"

"Yeah but don't break your phone doing it though"

Rouge lifted her hand into the air and silenced everyone.

"Rouge?"

The girl in question said nothing to begin with; her eyes were lifted higher than normal and her lips pouted in the smallest of smirks. "Oh that boy… Even when he thinks he's won he's just made things a whole lot easier"

Amy looked at her questionably, hoping she would get an answer or at least get her phone back, neither of which happened. All she saw was Rouge look up with a gleam in her eyes, and a look that showed she knew exactly what she was doing.

* * *

**My my was that a cliff hanger? I think it was :P**

**Please leave me a review just cus I loves them and hopefully stay tuned for the next chapter x**


	14. Tails Needs To Know

** Oh man I love getting a chapter over and done with. Not sure if I'll be able to update as quickly for the next one but I'll do my best.**

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews like I had loads when I woke up after uploading my chapter it was awesome!**

**Hope you all like this chapter as well cus things are getting SERIOUS!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Picking up her bag from the ground, Amy waited for Rouge to scoot her way out of the booth they all were sat at before climbing out after. Bunnie and Mina said a small goodbye and agreed to text them before they left through the door.

Amy fumbled with the straps of her bag, looking down patiently waiting for Rouge to finish with her phone. It seemed to be a few more minutes before the batgirl smiled with satisfaction and finally handed the phone back to its real owner. Amy held the phone questionable, her brow creased as she had a few questions running through her mind. She had been so busy making up stories and telling gossip on Sonic's account that she had unintentionally followed Rouge to the café and sat down with some really popular girls who normally laughed at her, only for this time they treated her like she belonged. By the time she had finally caught on where and who she was with, she was far too shy to ask. Now the girls were gone though she placed a hand on Rouge's shoulder to get her attention, "What did you do with Sonic's account? Also how come we were with Bunny and Mina? Don't they normally hang out with Sonic? I thought you said they turned on you."

Rouge grinned to herself, "Well well you sure weren't paying attention. Got a certain blue hedgehog on the mind?"

"Rouge…"

"Okay, firstly Sonic has deleted his account, so all I did was create a new one in his name. I uploaded a few photos of him like he probably would have and I also wrote an apology message and sent to everyone" the older girl explained casually before throwing her bag on her shoulder and walking to the door, Amy shortly following behind, "but why would you do that? Doesn't that defeat the object of getting people to hate him?"

"Well I had to get people to accept the friend request somehow. Not only that but who exactly is going to really forgive him after what he said? However we can't be so blunt this time, our attacks will have to sneaky this time, no more secret busting. People already want to beat him up so we got that part done. Next on the list is getting rid of Sally and that's where you come in" Rouge said, pointing to her cheerfully as if they were talking about something innocent. Amy looked down slightly to the ground, her heart started to race at the thought of her actually being with Sonic- no wait, revenge! That's what it was about.

Shaking her head, Amy rushed a little to keep up with the batgirl who walked faster than she did, "Okay but what about the password book, do we still need that?" she asked, but Rouge shook her head, "Hmm, so long as we have it we could easily get the blame, you'll need to find a way to get it back to his house without him finding out."

Amy seemingly paused and blinked a couple times as the idea sunk in, "Wait how am I supposed to do that?" she complained, Rouge just gave her a look that made her feel she had said something stupid. "Okay" the pink hedgehog sighed.

"Okay now that that is taken care of, to answer your next question about the girls, they did turn on me. They're Sally's friends and they're loyal to her" Rouge started, feeling almost disgusted as she spoke about them, "But after what Sonic said about Sally on SpaceBook I believe they have gotten a little… protective. I told them our plan and they were more than happy to help. They can get us into Jet's party no problem, they have intel on not only students but teachers as well and they know Sonic's weaknesses. I'd say they'll be a big help to our little project" she laughed.

"What Sonic said about Sally? But wasn't it us who wrote those things about her?" she questioned, not feeling easy about the situation now. Rouge stopped walking and turn to face her, her smile never left her lips as she winked to the naïve twelve year old, "Did we now? I sure don't remember that" with that she turned around and carried on her way home, leaving Amy alone with her conscience.

* * *

The sun was slowly disappearing on the horizon and the sky was a deep colour of red and orange. Tails hadn't left Sonic's house all that long ago and was now running along the usual path back to his own home, his bag grasped firmly in his hands.

If there was one thing he concluded that day, it was that his new LightSpeed shoes were so much more comfortable to run in then his old ones.

With his house finally in view, Tails had made it back in perfect time as he felt the light tap of water drop onto his nose, which was surely followed by the rest of its friends. The young fox narrowly missed being caught in a storm as he ran into his house and shut the door close to the outside world. He sighed deeply with a hand on his racing heart as the tapping of rain beat across the window glass relaxingly.

"Tails honey, where have you been?" a mature female voice called from a different room. Tails's ears picked up at the slightly worried tone his mother held, "Sorry mom, I was at a friend's house doing homework, I told you I'd be out" he cried out.

"Okay sweetheart, but call me next time you're going to be late, I was starting to worry about you"

"Sorry!" he shouted again. When that was out of the way Tails ran to the stairs and ascended up to his room. Making sure the door was closed behind him and the light was flicked on, he consciously went to his window and closed the curtains, his hands trembling and his heart racing as he knew what he had done was wrong. When feeling no one could see him he went to his bag and opened it wide before tipping everything out onto his bed.

There it was, buried within all his other School books, a small blue diary which was thick with pages and pages of writing. He hesitated but took it in his hands, staring at it for a small time and contemplating if he should go through with this or not.

"It feels so wrong, he's my friend now…" he mumbled to himself, turning the book slightly as he looked it over from all angles, "But… I really need to know."

With a deep breath, Tails sat down on his bed and placed the diary next to him. He opened to the first page and began to read.

_Dear Diary_

_My counsellor said I should use you, I don't know what good it will do._

_I'm supposed to write down how I feel about things, what's happened in the day and stuff. I might get in trouble if I don't write in you so I guess I'll just have to get used to you._

_Uncle Chuck is nice to me, today I ran again and accidently broke something and he didn't hit me for it, I really thought he would because he really liked that vase. On better news I can run again now, my first time in a few months. I'm so scared of tomorrow though, I have to go to School again. Chuck is moving me to a different School, I don't have to worry about Shadow anymore, but I'm so scared of what everyone will think of me. They won't like me because I'm a demon, I want to control my speed but I can't, it's too hard. _

_I'm scared Chuck will take me back, I can't go back there, but he might get sick of me if I don't control my power and not want me anymore. Then Nack might hurt me again._

_ I hate being me, I want to be normal like everyone else. Nack doesn't hurt the other kids, he didn't break their legs, just me. The kids at School punch me as well, Shadow tried to murder me._

_I don't know what happened to him after the teachers found the penknife on him, I think they sent him to a naughty School, but after he stabbed me I keep having dreams of all the things he did to me. I'm so scared to go to School again, I haven't been in such a long time. I don't even have a mummy or daddy to go to._

_But I have Chuck now, my Uncle Chuck. I think he's going to look after me, he's funny and kind to me. _

_He said if I didn't like my new School I could carry on getting home Schooled, I wish I could do that now but he won't let me yet. But no one knows me, if I don't run again they'll think I'm normal right?_

_I guess writing in you diary isn't bad after all, maybe if I just write this stuff I won't have to tell anyone how I feel._

Tails closed the book, his head dipped down shamefully while he brushed away the small tears in his eyes. Sonic had been no older then he was when he wrote that, the things people had done to him in the past, Tails never knew. He felt though that if he read more, he would discover more then he cared to know… but he wanted to know it all. He needed to for his research. He knew there was more than just childhood stories in that book, he saw it the first time he had entered Sonic's room. The book was opened to the back and inside was a thin paperback journal.

Sniffing loudly to himself and wiping his nose on his arm, the young fox held the book once again and flickered to the very back of the diary, and just as he remembered, the small paper journal was hidden between pages of writing. He took the journal and set the diary to the side, knowing he would end up reading it later, but right now he had his mind fixed on one thing as his eyes trailed across the big printed words;

MEDICAL JOURNAL

It felt wrong, but he ignored himself as he opened up the pages and read inside. He finally got all the information that he needed.

* * *

A couple of days had passed and the time Sonic had off School what exactly what he needed. He had done practically nothing but stay in bed at first, not sleeping though, just lying under the soft blankets and letting everything run through his head a thousand times over. The emerald, the rumours, understanding the way people treated him, who would hack his account, did his Uncle still love him, what will happen when he went back, could he face Mrs. Winter?

Question after question after question… he worried so much over it he made himself sick. But finally a day was gone and over with, and his Uncle did the best thing for him by pushing him to leave his room and go outside, convinced he was making himself depressed by refusing to go for a run. It was like Sonic had forgotten how, but when going outside for the first time in two days, he got his legs moving properly once again. The wind slashed through his quills and stung at his eyes when the scenery around him blurred the faster he ran. He loved every second of it; he started to felt like himself again.

He didn't want to go back home. After that he went back to his normal routine, getting up somewhat early now that he didn't need to go to School, taking care of his dog again instead of leaving it down to his Uncle, and went on errands when he was asked to.

He didn't have as many dark thoughts as he did before, sometimes he would look down at his wrist and wonder why he would even think of doing something like that, but he didn't ponder too much over it. He went to the shops and brought himself a lot of different creams and serums that all claimed to remove or hide scars and clear up scabs. He didn't bother to research on any of them, just brought the ones that looked good and hoped they'd do the job.

With the week slowly passing he actually met up with a few of his friends as well. Tails always wanted to come round and do homework with him. Sonic wasn't so much interested in that but he let the kid place all his books on the bedroom floor and talk away about the rich history in Science and machinery. He also started to ask a lot of questions about his speed and how he could control it, it was something Sonic just shrugged off as he didn't want to talk about it, no matter how much the young fox pressed the matter. In the end he always remind silent.

He hadn't seen much of his other friends now understanding why, and Sally still wasn't talking to him, but he had managed to sneak out of the house to spend some time with Knuckles, but even he was acting strange despite Sonic telling him what had recently happened.

For the first time though Sonic felt like things were starting to look a bit better, even though nothing had really changed he felt less stressed knowing he had gained back a little bit of self-control. He could spend a day listing through everything bad that was happening but instead he focused on what was good right now, his Uncle was still on his side, he was starting to get his friends back, Tails still worshiped him, the big game was coming up and he was most likely to win and get the praise of everyone.

But most importantly of all, he figured out who had hacked into his account.

The School day had yet to start and everyone had yet to get to their classes. Everyone on the Football Team was asked to skip all their lessons and go straight to the Sports room for a full day of training for the game on Friday.

His weekend was over and he was ready, he only had one chance to prove to his Coach he was serious and ready to play.

But before joining his team mates he headed to the Science department, marching passed glaring students and pushing away anyone in his path. They all hated him now so why let them think he cared?

He walked straight to the classroom that quickly became his biggest phobia and walked in without asking permission first. It was only her there, sorting through papers but standing with her back to him. So with a hatred filled glare, he slammed the door loudly behind him, causing the cat to jump with fright and drop her papers everywhere after spending so long organising them.

She spun around with her hand on her heart, only to lay eyes on the boy she hated.

"Can I help you?" she spat before leaning down to pick up the papers that were scattered across the floor, Sonic's eyes never left her. "I know it was you" he seethed angrily to her, his fists starting to clench under his sleeves.

"Of course, don't you have a game to go to?" the teacher dismissed before lining up the papers to match and placing them neatly on the table.

She hardly saw him come before he was stood opposite from and slammed his fist down upon her desk, "I know you hacked my account! You spread all the rumours around pretending to be me, and thanks to you everyone in the School wants me dead! But I figured that was what you wanted right?"

She looked at him the same way she normally did that sent shivers down his spine, this time though her cold emotionless stare had no chilling effect on him. She adjusted her blazer before walking around her desk so she wasn't so far away from him, "And what makes you think I would do that?"

He took a step back, but his eyes never left her emotionless stare, "Not exactly hard for a Science teacher who's good with computers, plus you haven't exactly been treating me like the teachers' pet" he threw back, glaring angrily. The woman actually smiled lightly to herself and allowed for a small laugh to escape pass her lips, Sonic started to feel sick again.

"They always say teachers know their students better then we think, guess that came to your advantage right?" he pushed, trying to get a better reaction from her. She never gave anything away, remaining poised just as a statue, "So you can't get me done for supposedly 'attacking you' so you decide to accuse me for fraud?"

He wasn't feeling as confident as before, "What?"

"You really thought you could accuse me of something so trivial? You are nothing more than a piece of filth! I might put you in your place at School to make the day more bearable, but as far leaving this building you are nothing more to me, I wouldn't let you even concern me on my own time let alone bother to ruin your social life!"

He hadn't noticed, but she had backed him into the wall, his back firmly buried in the cold bricks, his fear suddenly returning, proving to him he was not as strong as he thought he was. "In fact… I think you need to learn a little respect!"

He darted away from her as her hands lashed out to grab his arms; he only narrowly avoided her grasp before she slashed her hand, sharp claws catching on the back of his neck which caused him to fall to his knees from the pain.

As he cried out from the shock, a hand grasped out his mouth to shut him up while her other arm wrapped around his stomach. He was aggressively pulled his feet as she started to drag him to her desk.

For the first time Sonic fought back. Opening his mouth just enough he bit down on her finger as hard as he could. She squealed loudly and let him go. Taking the opportunity Sonic tried to run to the door, but fell when something heavy impacted with the back of his head, causing him to end up on the ground. Mrs. Winter was on top of him in seconds as he moaned in pain; she grabbed him by the wrists and tried to pull him up.

"NO!" he growled before using his foot and kicking her firmly in the stomach. She clenched over completely winded and almost struggling to breath. One more time Sonic tried to escape, he pushed himself up, dizziness making him stumble sluggishly, and ran straight to the door. He had almost opened it before he was pulled back once again, the teacher grabbing his arms before placing a hand around his neck to stop him from struggling.

"Let me go! No! Stop it!" he screamed out, feeling her hold getting tighter as she pulled him to her desk.

Behind her chair a small closet, no higher than her knees, was built into the wall which was there to store Science equipment and other things like that. Today it was cleared out.

Kicking her chair out the way and reviling the closet in plain sight, the door was already ajar and the key was in the keyhole. Sonic hadn't noticed as he struggled against her, trying to kick her, punch her, anything to get her away from him, completely terrified of what she was going to do.

She kicked him in the back of his knees to cause him to fall down, crying out in pain. Her hold had loosened when she reached out to the small hidden door and opened it wide, Sonic manage to fight his way out of her hold completely before she quickly grabbed his quills in her hands, the sensitive nerves practically paralysing him as panic over took him and he thrashed around, just missing her every time.

With one last move she grabbed a hold of the hood of his jacket and pulled him to the closet, pushing him firmly inside so quickly that in his panic state he hadn't realised what she had done until he felt the small confined spaces of the dark walls with his hands and back, his body feeling cramped and unmoving. He quickly looked around starting to hyperventilate at where he was, his only light being blocked out by Mrs. Winters as she covered his exit trying to force kicking feet in the tight space. "No please don't NO!" he screamed but she door was shut tight on him, leaving him in complete darkness.

"You're right, I do know my students better then they think, even their biggest fears" was the last thing she heard from her.

He started to choke on the lack of air he believed he no longer had, his chest racking as his hands scaled the wall looking for a way out. There was no way he could stand up, he could barely fit sitting down, every nerve in his body was screaming out just as he was out of fear. He kept kicking at the door, praying someone would hear him and get him away.

Despite all his promises tears fell from his eyes, "Let me out! Please someone help me! I can't… no, I can't… not again…" all he felt was breath after breath after breath ripping him up inside. He had panic attacks before but never had he had one this bad. He struggled to move himself forward as his legs got completely caught under himself. His head started to spin.

"No…"

Hyperventilating was all he could feel himself doing.

"Please someone…"

Every nerve in his body had seized itself up and started to scream in agony.

"Anyone…"

His voice was so harsh it had become a faint whisper and he could barely hear himself.

"… help me…"

He lost all consciousness as everything went black.

* * *

**Okay ending wasn't my best peice of writing but I'm really tired and was on a bit of writing block for that part. Hopefully it gets the point across though.**

**If you guys like it please leave me a review and if you have any suggestions then let me know :)**

**Till next time x**


	15. Let Down The Team

**Okay so this chapter I think is the shortest chapter so far. Really sorry about that but again it's one of those deals where I just wanted to get it updated and not leave you guys hanging on that cliff. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, so many reviews last chapter and I was bussing! **

**I'm not sure when the next chapter will be but hopefully it won't take me as long this time :P**

**Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

"… just walked in… happen but he… I called as soon…"

The voice was faint and distant, but it swooned around going louder and quieter with every word spoken. An echo of a heartbeat pounded in his ears causing a searing pain to his head. Surprisingly something cooling and wet was placed on his forehead which eased the tension and calmed him a little. It felt difficult but Sonic hesitantly opened his eyes; his vision was blurred with only two blacked out blobs that loomed over him while the rest seemed like a grey light.

Blinking tiredly a couple of times the blobs swayed side to side before colour started to return and he saw two adults wearing green. He didn't recognise them, but they both had name tags and were invading his personal space.

His eyes started to roll around, taking in his surroundings. There was a chair in front of him, in fact his legs were placed on top and his shoes had been removed. His hands suddenly jerked and he realised they were lying flat on the hardwood floor; now realising he was lying down on his back.

"He's awake"

"Sonic, can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?"

A hand started to wave in front of his face and the hedgehog instantly felt agitated. With a slight groan he pushed the man's hand away and tried to get up, only to be held down, "Now kiddo it's best you stay down, you might have a concussion."

Despite the friendly warnings, feeling their strong hands pin him back down to the ground was more than enough to set him into panic. Sonic pulled against their hold and tried to lash out at them.

"Whoa hey calm down!" they urged, but the more they tried to help it seemed the more Sonic would struggle against them. It was to the point the hedgehog started to struggle for his breath that they finally let go of their hold and leave him alone.

Sonic held his arms to himself, turning to his side and kicking the chair away so he could curl his legs up. He took the moment just to settle himself, not wanting to feel scared or completely forget how to breathe. He felt like he was being foolish, he knew what they were doing and it wasn't trying to hurt him, but having them hold him down like he was the victim and they were ready to inflict pain on him was enough to cause him to freak out.

When he looked a bit calmer, one of the adults placed a very delicate hand upon his arm and rubbed soothingly. She bent herself down so her face wasn't so far away from his, thinking he'd probably feel safer if it was just her.

The man stood up and left her to it. He observed as she whispered to the adolescent hedgehog, reassuring him he was okay and seeing the boy nod his head in response. He turned towards the two other people who stood in the room, the Principal of the School and the teacher who found the teen in her classroom.

"Okay nothing appears to be broken. Julie will check for concussion or any other head injuries, but he looked like he's more shook up than anything else" he explained.

Mrs. Winters placed her hand sympathetically upon her heart, "It was just awful, I don't even know why he was in my classroom but when I walked in…" she chocked as tears started to form in her eyes, "When I saw him hanging… I just did the first thing I thought of and tried to cut him down" she hardly finished before she buried her face in her hands and wept loudly, Robotnik patting her shoulder, "You did the right thing Mrs. Winter" he commended.

"What…" Even though the woman had been talking to him he heard what Mrs. Winters had said. He sat up far too quickly and gasped at the rushing pain in his head. Ignoring that and the woman who was trying to get him to lie back down, he looked around franticly. To his left he saw a rope discarded only a few feet away that had been tide perfectly into a noose. His eyes widened in complete horror and he instantly felt sick.

He looked at the woman who stood there with her eyes buried in her hands; the woman who had beat him, humiliated him and threw him into the closet.

He was angry. He felt his fists clench up until his knuckles were as white as his gloves. He seethed through his bared teeth. "… you liar…"

"What was that?" the Principal demanded, everyone now silent and staring.

"YOU LIAR!"

No one had prepared for the hedgehog to jump up from the floor and swing his fist out to the tabby cat, who with her quick reflexes managed to dart out of his way before one of the First Aiders grabbed him around his waist and held him back.

"You bitch! You lying bitch! You did this!"

Winters was bewildered just as everyone else before the man finally took control and turned the struggling hedgehog away from the small crowd. "That is enough! Now sit down!"

For once Sonic did as he was told when the man firmly pushed him back down to the floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest and placed his head on top of them, his hands gripping onto his quills as he started to whimper in defeat.

With a careful eye on him, the First Aiders left him where he sat and turned back towards the Principal and Teacher, leaving him alone and distraught. "We can provide help for him. A lot of teenagers his age go through depression and take extreme measures. We'll need to inform his parents and discuss with them what treatments we recommend…"

What use was it now? Who would ever believe him? He couldn't tell them what she did, not for the sake of his Uncle. There was no way he could explain the truth to anyone. What was going to happen now? Everyone in the School was going to think he tried to hang himself! Sally would probably go as far as to think she was involved. How was Tails going to react? The kid has been worried sick just from him getting suspended and having those rumours posted around; the fox never left his side. Would he be able to handle thinking he was now suicidal? And what about Knuckles and the rest of his Football team-

"Oh no" Sonic's head shot up from his lap. He looked at the clock desperately and saw it was half past two. "Oh crap NO!" he shouted, gaining the attention from everyone. Just as Julie was about to question him, Sonic was suddenly no longer there; a streak of blue being left in his place and a gush of wind sent all the desks knocked to the ground.

"Hey wait!" she cried after him. Immediately she and her co-worker ran after him, but when they reached the hall way he had gone completely out of sight.

"We need to search for him. He could hurt himself even more!"

* * *

Sonic had hardly even thought about what he was doing. He left his bag back in the classroom much to his annoyance but he would have to worry about that later. There was one goal in his mind and that was to get to the Sports Stadium. Due to his unworldly speed he had reached his destination in only seconds. He only slowed down when he saw the two steal doors. With a dramatic push he ran out into the filed, sweating and gasping.

All of his friends were on the field, and they were actually playing; all of them. When he played only two or three other members actually did anything, the other team players just stood on the side knowing they didn't have to bother because Sonic would just score the goal, Sonic would take defence, Sonic would blah blah blah…

But now there was no Sonic… and everyone was working together and… winning?

Despite the sinking feeling that tightened in his chest, the blue hedgehog rushed to the coach who stood on the side lines cheering his team on. A goal was scored and everyone went wild over excitement.

"Coach!" Sonic cried out, trying to get his attention over the noise, but the bulldog carried on applauding his team.

Sonic's heart was pounding when he saw all his friends group and start to walk to the benches which were not that far from him. "Coach?" he said again with more desperation in his voice. The man picked up his clipboard and marked down his team's progress.

"You're off the team"

The hedgehog froze. "W-what?"

"You're off the team" the Coach repeated, aggravation being as clear as the colour blue was in Sonic's quills.

"Please I can explain-"

"I GAVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE!"

Sonic backed down, reviling himself to be completely vulnerable. Everyone off his team stopped and stared, all wondering what was going on, before getting up and forming a small crowd around the hedgehog and bulldog.

The Coach growled inwardly, while Sonic cringed feeling afraid. "I gave you a chance to redeem yourself but clearly it wasn't important enough was it? You see these boys Sonic?" he extended his hand to the boys who watched invasively, "They're relying on this game to get them into college, to earn a Scholarship. They aren't doing it to show off, to try and pick up girls, to inflate their ever growing ego! This is a team game; it means every member working together as a TEAM! And you let our team down."

Shamefully Sonic's head fell down, unable to look the Coach or his friends in the eyes. Silence started to linger and he realised it was because they were waiting for him to defend himself… what could he say.

"But I-I… ugh…"

His ears pricked up at the quiet noise of snickering among the small crowd, he suddenly felt so small and helpless. It suddenly started to grow into a small row of laughter that he didn't completely understand, until "Just as I thought. Now get off the pitch, only Teams are permitted to be here. And next time you might want to put on a pair of shoes."

"What?" looking down, his face instantly flushed from embarrassment as he saw that all he had on was a white pair of socks, forgetting his shoes had been taken off in Mrs. Winters classroom before. With wide eyes he watched all his 'friends' blow up with hysterical laughter, practically falling on top of each other at his expense.

Tails hadn't seen much, being the smallest on the team. Heck he was probably the only one left sitting on the bench that day as he wasn't really allowed to play in the big game. But he heard everything. Finally pushing his way through the crowd, in perfect time he saw Sonic hide his face in his hands before disappearing in a flash of blue.

He looked around to the Coach; he carried on his work like nothing had happened. Then he watched all the guys who use to show Sonic nothing but support; they each laughed and mocked him ruthlessly, even Knuckles joined in.

The crowd soon walked away, heading back towards the changing rooms, and Tails was left standing alone. He just stared at the doors where Sonic had left, knowing had he been braver or more confident he would have stood up for him. He would have helped him. But he didn't.

And he'd never forgive himself.

* * *

He couldn't run anymore. Sonic couldn't focus, he couldn't see straight as the world blurred and spun around him. He zipped through corridors, bouncing off the lockers and walls like he could no longer control his speed.

After banging into the doors he was in a hallway that had a single railing along the wall. He stopped running and fell to it, catching himself before he hit the floor.

His chest heaved again and again, wheezing and gasping in sheer panic and humiliation.

Everything was… he couldn't… he couldn't… how… why…

His mind, his vision, his senses; they all spun out of control, racing, bouncing, flipping, gagging. Mostly though, his heart beats were pounding uncontrollably. They were much faster then what would be possible for a normal person. He wasn't normal.

Help! He needed help! But he couldn't walk, his knees dropped to the floor, only his arm held onto the railing. Sweat poured down from his forehead. He wanted so badly to take his hoodie off as he burned up inside. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream. He wanted to be able to breathe!

His chest started to burn and he clutched his heart in his hand and with one final throat ripping struggle for breath he let go of the railing, his head fell to the ground and his eyes fell into nothing but black.

* * *

It was almost surreal seeing him lie there in that bed. To look at him he seemed peaceful, his eyes resting lightly as light little snores left his nose, his chest now rising slowly and calmly. Robotnik had never seen him in this state before. He was used to loud, rude and obnoxious. Qualities that only made him hate him more. Now it was as if that person didn't exist, and he wished he didn't.

The large man slowly stepped forward to the bed. There was a small oxygen machine nearby but it wasn't in use anymore. Once the First Aid Paramedics found the hedgehog in the hall way they spared no time in rushing him to the nurse's room for emergency treatment. They easily had him stabilized and breathing normally again in minutes. Now they had left the hedgehog to sleep while they contacted his Uncle. No doubt the old man will want to take him to the hospital, worrying his head off over the blue rat.

Robotnik could practically feel a disgusting taste in his mouth. How? Just how could a brilliant genius like Chuck give up his life's work over an arrogant pin cushion like _him_? All because he was his 'Nephew' and Chuck had family 'Responsibilities' to take care of.

The Principal scowled at him, the bane of his life, the reason he was stuck running this hell hole. Sonic however barely moved, fast asleep and oblivious to the world around him.

His head was turned to the side, buried down into the pillow as he lay on his back; this left all his long blue quills to rest beside him without being uncomfortable, yet exposed.

Robotnik carefully placed his large hand gently on them, his fingers slowly starting to brush against them as he felt how dense and thick they really were. He carefully eyed up the hedgehog for any sign of disturbance, but he remained hadn't even flinched.

So as careful as possible, he separated the strands of quills with his fingers and when finding a small, almost week looking strand, he gave it a firm tug and it pulled it out.

Holding it out to the light, Robotnik examined the blue quill, as if making sure it was legit. Feeling satisfied he pulled a tissue out of his pocket and placed it between the folds and put it back in his pocket.

He may be running a hell hole for now, but all of that was shortly about to change thanks to that small strand of quill.

Sonic hadn't felt a thing.

* * *

**Ohhhhh what is Robotnik up to?**

**Well I know what he's doing, but the rest of you don't so I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see :P**

**Really hope you enjoyed and please leave a review. **

**Till the next chapter :D**

**Sorry for the shortness, promise it wont happen again.**


	16. Seeing Dr Quack

**Well I'm back and with a longer chapter this time, yaay :D**

**However this chapter is all medical based and UGH I am so stupid at the worst of times. So if it doesn't make sense then pretend it does, and all will be peachy :)**

**Thank you so much to the people who reviewed, especially my loyal readers who review every chapter, you guys know who you are so thank you so much!**

**But a big thank you to SonicFan23 for constantly kicking me up the butt to get updating. **

**I know not much happens in this chapter but it's all the boring stuff that is now out of the way so we can move on to the really gritty parts.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

His head felt too dizzy for it to be ignored, no matter how much he wanted to just shrug it off. Sonic groaned, his eyes starting to flutter open, but the harsh light made him wince. He didn't register much at first, but he felt a small grip on his hand get tighter. Questioningly he forced his eyes to open fully; a smile instantly broke on his face when he saw his Uncle sitting on the chair right next to his bed. "Chuck!" he sighed, feeling a wave of security rush through him, as if he was now completely safe from any harm that could have gotten to him.

The old hedgehog lifted his head slowly, looking as if he was nearly asleep. But his eyes soon met with young emeralds. Sonic's smile started to falter when his Uncle lingered. It was like the man was trying to work out if he was actually there or not, he seemed so estranged to him yet his hold on his hand never shifted.

"Chuck?"

Sonic started to worry, his Uncle's brow furrowed up sadly, and for the first time he could remember it actually looked like the older man was about to start crying.

Feeling the sense of guilt and panic, Sonic sat himself up from the bed, causing an alarming pain to rush through his head but he ignored it, knowing his Uncle was priority. "Uncle Chuck… wh-what's wrong?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you do it? When Robotnik called me he told me you were in Mrs. Winters Science room. He said you had… that you…" and that's when it hit Sonic the most. He watched as his Uncle let go of his hand and shamefully look away to brush the tears from his eyes. Sonic had never in his life seen his Uncle cry, he was always so calm and passive. He shared Sonic's pain but showed him how to act above the feeling of sorrow and misery, how to look on the positive side of everything. He never allowed himself to cry, and now he was.

"You tried to kill yourself. Sonny… why? I don't understand. You've been so bad lately, you don't eat much, and I know you don't sleep well. The nightmares have been getting worse and worse and I just… I don't know what to do. Please, I am begging you _please…_ tell me what is wrong."

The guilt was almost too much to bear, all Sonic wanted to was leap into his arms, burry his head into his shoulder and beg him for help. He couldn't though. This time it was his turn to reassure his Uncle everything was alright.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Sonic was so lost in the sadness and desperation of his Uncles eyes, it was like feeling a knife plunge through his chest and move around until his heart was completely gone. He had felt guilty before a couple of times but never to this extent. He shamefully looked down, staring at his hands that shook when he held them together.

"Sonic!"

He looked up, and Chuck was more desperate then before. He reached out his open hands and cupped his face, keeping it so that he couldn't look away. Sonic's heart started to race. "Please, just tell me what is going on and we can get through it. Together."

There was no stopping it now, for what must have been the 247th time this month alone Sonic broke down in tears. He did exactly what he told himself not to do, feeling it was too childish to do so, he reached his arms out to his Uncle, his only parent, and buried his face deep in his chest. Chuck was only too willing to hold him close and reassure that everything will be alright.

"I just can't deal with things anymore. I've been depressed lately but that's it… I-I don't know why I tried to… kill myself today" he cried so much, but now he wasn't sure if it was mostly for seeing how distraught his Uncle was or because once again he had to lie to the man he loved more than anything in the world. He truly deserved everything he had got, but he could never tell Chuck the truth, he wouldn't put him through that!

"… but I promise. I promise it will never happen again. I just wasn't thinking, I-I… lost control but I'm okay now. You don't need to worry about me" he pulled away and stared straight into his eyes. "I swear you don't need to worry. It won't happen again."

But Chuck shook his head lowly, unable to be convinced by his promises, "I am not taking that risk. You won't even tell me what the problem is, what's causing all of this? Ever since you got those bruises on your arms you've been different. You've been distant about things. You're even still wearing this hood-thing, surely the bruises have gone by now?"

Sonic looked away again, subconsciously crossing his arms over his chest.

"Is someone hurting you?"

"No" what else could he say? He knew his Uncle didn't believe him. The older man looked almost disappointed in him. "Sonic…"

"Chuck really no one is hurting me…"

"Show me your arms!"

He froze. His Uncle was no longer weepy or distraught. Instead he looked sternly towards him, seriousness written all over him as if the games were over. He wanted answers.

Sonic felt dumbfounded for a moment, thrown off by the sudden mood change, but hesitantly did as he was told. He rolled up his sleeves and showed his bare arms; not a single mark or scratch was to be seen.

Chuck still didn't seem satisfied though, his narrowed eyes which could have been mistaken for brutish and mean still held in perfect stature. "Take off your jacket Sonic" he ordered. This was not the time to be messed around. This time though he wasn't so cooperative.

"Unc I'm fine can we please just-"

"Take it off!"

"No"

"Sonic!"

An uneasy silence passed by and the two hedgehogs looked at each other with indifference. Chuck was impatient and stern, Sonic was cowering away.

Biting his lip and his ears practically burning, Sonic finally did what he was told. He pulled the hoodie up over his head, reviling his small battered frame, all the broken skin, all his scars.

Chuck was completely stunned. No words left the gap from his lips and his eyes were fixated on all the scars, too many for him to even count. His shoulders dropped as tears returned to his eyes, "Oh Sonic…" he started to whimper.

His hands started to reach to the burns on his chest, but Sonic grabbed his hands first and squeezed them tightly, "No it's not what you think" he pathetically tried to reason, but was unable to finish, "Who did this to you!?" his Uncle cried out, and Sonic could feel the old man's hands tremble within his own.

He lowered his head down, he would never forgive himself for this but what choice did he have now?

"I did it"

And just as if someone had thrown a glass to the floor, it was like the room had just shattered around them. Chuck stared at him, there was horror in his eyes and he looked at his nephew like he was nothing more than a stranger. He tried to pull his hands away but Sonic wouldn't let him.

His Uncle didn't understand, all he could do was ask why? A question he didn't have any answer for.

He merely shrugged because what else could he do? "I don't know."

"Has anybody been saying anything to you? Has anything happened recently? Is it your grades?"

The questions went on and on and Sonic shook his head rapidly, "No no no, it's nothing like that I just…" he thought back to when he was in the bathroom at home. When he had broken that mirror and all the pieces fell to the floor. He remembered that small cut he got on his face; it was like a shock, a shock he needed to wake him up. Then there was that piece of glass he couldn't take his eyes off. He wanted to use it, he wanted more than just a shock, he wanted to feel something. He felt empty, ugly, almost dead. He wanted to feel that bit more alive.

So that's what he said.

"Lately I feel… worthless. The nightmares are getting worse and I feel like I can't turn to anyone. I feel like… I'm dead. So I did this, I guess."

Without words his Uncle took him back into his arms and held him close to his heart. He held him for as long as he needed to and refused to let go, afraid of what would happen if he did.

"You know I'm always going to be here for you Sonic. Don't ever think you can't come to me about anything, please don't ever make me worry about you like that again. Whatever you're feeling we can deal with it together, don't battle it alone. You're such a special young man, you're so kind and loyal to people and you never give up on what is right. You should be so proud of yourself, just as I am."

Oh chaos… _The Guilt!_

"You do so much for the people around you, I've never known such a young boy act so mature for his age"

_Dear lord why was he doing this?_

"You don't deserve to go through this."

_IT BURNS!_

Sonic pulled himself away out of his Uncle's hold. He kept himself downcast as he couldn't look his Uncle in the face at the moment. The guilt was on the brink of coming out of his mouth in the form of vomit, he had never felt this sick before.

Chuck placed a hand upon his shoulder, understanding that Sonic didn't want to talk about it more. Still it was not something to just sweep under the rug and forget about it. "Look, I was talking to the Paramedic that found you, he said that you had no serious injuries but due to the fact you passed out twice, and once after running, he recommended we see your doctor immediately. To be perfectly honest I couldn't agree more with him."

Sonic didn't agree, "But I'm fine now" he kept arguing. Sadly there was no cause for compromise, "No Sonic you're not. I'm really worried about this, I think it would be best to go to Dr. Quack and have him check you over."

He really didn't want to go, he hated going to the hospital every six weeks just to suffer the humiliation of being checked over only to be told he was fine (like he knew he was) then have to repeat it all again. It was such a burden but one Chuck always insisted he kept up with. Only there was one problem this time. "But I can't find my medical journal."

"You lost it?" he wasn't happy.

"I normally keep it in my diary but that's gone missing. I've searched my whole room, I can't find it anywhere" for once he was telling the truth, it felt kind of weird.

Chuck shook his head, suddenly looking tired and drained. Neither of them felt great at this point though so it was only to be expected, "It doesn't matter. We'll deal with Quacks complaining when we get there. He surely has a backup journal anyway."

Well so much for that. One the plus side it meant he finally got to leave this School for a bit.

* * *

Okay School was probably a better option now that he thought of it. Truthfully he hadn't been to the last appointment with Dr. Quack like he should have. His friends had arranged a day out exploring around some old houses with a couple of bears, he didn't exactly feel like saying 'Sorry can't come, got to have an old guy with latex gloves probe me for a bit'. Naturally his Uncle had been angry when receiving the phone call that he hadn't shown up for the appointment and insisted he went back as soon as possible. Sonic however always found ways of putting it off, or excuses as to why that day wouldn't work for him. He was so good at it that it had now been ten weeks since he last saw the old duck that always had cold hands.

He sat alone on the examination table the nurse guided him to. He had been waiting for a while now. She told him the Doctor wouldn't be long, that he was doing something or other, he hadn't been listening. No doubt he was outside talking to his Uncle, both of them probably coming up with physiological reasons behind his 'sudden behaviour'. His leg started to twitch nervously.

The door finally opened and a much older duck walked through merrily, as if he was oblivious to the patient's circumstance. "Hello there sport, how you keeping? It's been a while" he greeted, but with a hint of sarcasm in the last part of his sentence.

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck and laughed out of nerves, "Yeah… been kinda busy" he said lamely.

"So I've heard."

The Doctor paused at his desk for only a moment to pick up his stethoscope and a few other bits and bobs. Sonic started to flush in his face, his stomach again dropping. "I spoke to your Uncle. He's very concerned for you and quite rightly so. Please, will you remove" he asked while pointing to the hoodie Sonic wore.

The young teen sighed, he really didn't want to, but Quack was one mean duck when he wanted to be. No arguing with him. So twice in one day (he was breaking record) Sonic did as he was told and removed his garment.

Dr. Quack had done his job for the better part of twenty years. He had seen plenty of injuries to desensitize him for the rest of his life, had taken on many surgeries and had practically seen limbs twisted into ways that were unnatural. So it was no surprise that when he saw Sonic's scars and burns all he did was simply nod and get straight to examining them. He was never known for sympathy.

Or personal space for that matter as he placed his hands on Sonic's shoulders and turned him so he could get a real look at his back. He turned him again and studied his burns. He may have been counting all the scars and bruises Sonic thought, he seemed to be taking forever.

Finally he took a step back from the young hedgehog, which was a relief as Sonic could practically smell his breath he got so close.

"So you did this to yourself?" he asked while picking up the end of the stethoscope, breathing into it, and then placing it on Sonic's chest. The teen gasped at the unsuspecting impact of cold metal, but relaxed soon after. "Yeah" was all he could answer with.

The Doctor didn't reply just yet, he was too busy staring at his watch and counting heart beats, which unfortunately a skill he had to master over the past few years as Sonic's heart beats were five times as fast as the average person. This time though he was struggling to keep up with the pulses that accelerated with every passing moment.

He pulled away and removed the buds out of his ears. "Some pretty intense marks you have there. Not something someone could easily acquire by themselves."

Sonic only shrugged his shoulders and looked away. The Doc knew that was the only answer he was getting. Oh well, it wasn't part of his job. He picked up his pad and started writing. "You're heart rate is too fast for me to count on my own this time. In fact I'd recon a computer wouldn't be able to keep up. We'll check your blood pressure."

So from that moment Sonic had to endure another hour of personal space invading, awkward questions and constant prodding. His blood pressure was checked; his throat and ears looked into, the painful withdrawal of blood from his arms, several of them, and now he was lying down on the table, feeling like he was an exhibit in a museum, while the Doctor held his leg in the air and keeping his knee in place while he moved the bottom part of his leg up and down.

"Do you feel any pain?" he asked, and always Sonic was say no.

This was the part he hated. He didn't know why it was necessary but he always insisted on examining the movements of his legs, to see if there was any strain or unease in his joints. Sonic absolutely loathed it, having the Doctors hands running all up and down his legs, constantly touching him, putting him in awkward positions sometimes, massaging his hips if they felt tense. He always left the room feeling violated in one way or other.

"I don't see why this is necessary!" he complained.

Dr. Quack sighed, but carried on in rotating Sonic's ankle to see how flexible his joints still were. "We have been over this a million times boy. You had both your legs broken, it's a miracle you can still walk, never mind run around at the speed of sound. If were not careful this 'talent' of yours could cause serious damage in the future. We're simply monitoring you. Besides I'm still trying to figure out how your body tolerates the friction and damage running should be causing you."

"No I will not be your little test dummy" Sonic answered before the question could even be asked.

"Fair enough, I say no more but however if you-"

"OWE!"

The Doctor stopped at the sudden cry. He had moved on to Sonic's left leg and was exercising it by pushing the leg against the pelvis. He kept the leg completely still, it was only bent slightly towards Sonic's frame, not enough to be pushing against his stomach, and the teenager was trembling. His hands went to his hip where he applied pressure to alleviate the pain and small groaning whimpers sounded from him, showing how much pain it was causing.

Dr. Quack slowly lowered Sonic's leg from the aching position, but it showed harder then it looked. Sonic's leg had somehow locked into place and had become immobile. "Can you move your leg?" he asked, but through gritted teeth and tightly closed eyes, Sonic shook his head.

The Doctor had no choice but to place his hands to his hip where the pain was becoming too intense for the hedgehog to handle. He felt the area until his hands rested on the masses of knots that unexplainably formed. He rubbed them gently, knowing exactly what he was doing, much to Sonic's dismay. But gradually his leg started to lower itself down in Dr. Quacks hold. It was a slow process but when his leg lowered half way, a loud, painful, sickening click was heard and Sonic could finally move his leg again.

Finishing on that note, the Doctor went to his desk and took a seat. Sonic was slow to push himself up, but he did so with little pain and stood himself on two feet. He walked around a little to see if he still could, making sure to keep a hand out ready to catch himself if he should fall, but he felt fine. The Doctor hadn't stayed to help him which was rude, but he didn't need help. Soon he was walking to the desk with his hoodie and shoes back on. He sat down on the chair and waited patiently as the Doctor called for Chuck to be brought in.

The older hedgehog wasn't long to arrive before he took a seat next to Sonic.

Dr. Quack typed at his computer all the new information he had acquired from the examination. When finished he turned to the two in front of him.

"Well, from what I've seen today I feel we have a problem. Your blood pressure is just far too high, even for you. In fact had it been anyone else they may have been rushed into hospital. Your heart beats are too fast, making me concerned you're placing too much strain on your heart with all this running. We won't get your blood test results until a few days, but even with them I am not keeping my fingers crossed. I can see that there is a lot of physical strain on your body. These injuries luckily are not infected, but there is a lot of irritation which I think is being caused by you wearing that jacket all the time. You need to let your skin breathe more often. They are mending however. My main concern is the pain you felt in your hip when we moved your leg"

"It wasn't that bad" Sonic started to defend, not for any real reason.

"Young man you were crying more than my granddaughter did when she saw Justin Beaver."

He blushed and shut up himself up.

"Anyway. It seems to me that your body isn't coping as well as it should. It's as if you've taken on a lot of trauma and you've not had time to recover from it. You mentioned you had panic attacks today right?"

"Yes… I guess"

"Well I believe your emotional state is subconsciously making your body shut down."

Chuck lightly shook his head, as he had been looking back and forth between the two. "Dr. What is it that you're trying to say? Is there a diagnosis?"

The Doctor closed his eyes and rested his chin on his hands, "In all honesty I don't think there is. To me it seems as though Sonic is mentally draining himself which is affecting him physically. By what you have told me and talking to him today he displays signs of depression, anxiety and paranoia, much like when he was younger, only now it seems to have resurfaced itself. While his health is deteriorating his body won't be strong enough to handle his speed. His heart rate is far too fast at the moment and I believe it's down to anxiety. He needs to slow himself down and remain calm, so no getting angry, stressed or frightened. But most importantly NO RUNNING! Sonic?"

He turned to face the teen directly, Sonic was almost statue like. "When you do finally find your journal I want you to write this all down. A healthy diet, plenty of sleep and again NO RUNNING" he emphasised again before handing him a note he had printed out, to Sonic it was basically a list of everything wrong with him. "Now, just to be on the safe side I'd like to run a few more tests just to be sure that this is all mental and not physical. In the mean time, because it takes ages to get an appointment, I will prescribe an anti-depressant for you, should hopefully keep your anxiety under control."

Chuck took the prescription form from the Doctors hands. Sonic watched him sadly; it was like he was receiving a death sentence in the form of a letter. He felt his Uncle place a small hand upon his arm and squeeze gently. Sonic wondered if it was actually more for him or himself.

"Also take this" Quack announced, handing over a business card, "What is it?"

"Her name is Dr. Maria Kintobor, she's an exceptional therapist, she'll get to the bottom of Sonic's problems and hopefully stop the… 'self-harming' behaviour" he gave a knowing look towards the blue teen, a look Chuck must have missed, but it sent his skin crawling, feeling like he had just been caught out from a serious crime.

The Doctor didn't believe his story, and now it was up to the therapist to find out the truth.

* * *

**Well that just happened. Not much of a cliff hanger but we all know things are going to get worse, so please keep following and I will hopefully update soon.**


	17. You're In My Spot

** Ugh thank goodness it's done! It's like midnight and I've been none stop to get this chapter finished. It's such a tedious thing to do at this time of night. **

**Oh well hopefully it will be worth it.**

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews, they are all such a great way to keep me writing and I'm actually amazed at how well this story is doing.**

**If there's any misspells or misswording I am sorry, but at the moment it's taking me everything not to write like this jbgfds g sdijs\df if eiedbf...**

**Hope you enjoy :)**

**UPDATE/EDIT= PLEASE READ.  
**

**Just to let everyone know I've re-rwitten the riot scene. This morning I read it back and I was like oh lord what was I thinking? So I've re-done it to hopefully not be so over the top. Hopefully it sounds a lot better, but like I said it is valid to the story.**

* * *

Rouge couldn't help herself. Her devious smile only grew the more her slender fingers danced across her keyboard.

The events of the day hadn't gone unheard of. Not just with her either, quite a lot of people had heard about the sudden 'emergency' that involved her little blue hedgehog. Students had seen from their classroom the first aid crew jump into action and run to the Science area. It didn't take long to get a name and details. Now it was the talk of the School.

Running Sonic's SpaceBook page she was flooded with messages; some from suck up well-wishers who wanted to fit in with the popular kids, some from students who thought they already were in the click. But Rouge was even surprised in herself when she found that her little tiff had a much bigger impact then she thought, even after correcting herself and apologising under his name.

A lot of students, much older and much bigger, were sending death threats to her, well him. All the people her little secrets had gotten to the most and most of them had a lot of connection outside of the School.

It was interesting.

But there was one message she couldn't ignore, and no matter what she really couldn't help herself. Besides Pinkie was going to need all the help she could get for Friday night.

_Sonic I heard what happened today. Is everything okay? _

A week ago the avatar had been of the said hedgehog, with a beautiful brown chipmunk draped across his shoulders and planting a kiss on his cheek, while he just smiled arrogantly. Now it was just a photo of a chipmunk standing with her best friends, each posing in their new bikinis.

_No not really. Kinda freaked at the moment, not gonna lie_

_Oh Sonic… is it because of me? If it is I am so sorry, I didn't mean to be a total bitch I've just been really angry about what was said_

"Oh little Princess you just play right into my hands" Rouge laughed while licking her lips ominously.

_I thought you hated me. I told you it wasn't me who said that but you still didn't believe me._

_I would never have reacted the way I did if I had thought you'd of tried to hurt yourself like that!_

_I didn't try to hurt myself, I wanted to die. I thought I had lost you, and I didn't know what to do._

_Oh my gosh please stop it, im actually crying! I can't believe I did this to you! I'm so sorry, for everything. Are you at School tomorrow? Can we talk properly then?_

_Not gonna lie, I feel like my head is spin dashing a rock I can't think straight. I don't really wanna talk just yet. I think it's best if I don't see you for a while._

_I understand :'( _

_If you're at Jets party on Friday night, after the big game will you meet up with me then? I just need a few days to myself._

_Yeah I'll come, anything for you. I love you._

_I'll see you then… despite everything… I still love you too._

* * *

It was the next day and for some reason Sonic had a good feeling. It was odd given the circumstances and new position of lies he was now under but he hardly let it faze him. After coming home from the hospital Sonic made a beeline for his room and threw himself under the blankets. Today however he was up the moment his alarm went off, straight to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, then headed down the stairs.

He didn't bother with wearing a jacket just yet. Now that his Uncle had seen his scars he didn't need to cover them up anymore, and as the Doctor put it he needed to let his skin breathe. In a strange way it was like a weight of his shoulders, one of many. He wasn't hiding anymore.

Chuck obviously picked up on his behaviour, he was near falling to the ground shocked when he walked into the kitchen to find Sonic sitting at the island with an apple in his mouth and a pencil in his hand doing homework. The dog Muttski was prancing at his feet, wanting attention and occasionally Sonic would reach out to pet him.

"Okay I don't need any more convincing, you really are sick if you're up before me" the old man joked while walking to the fridge. Sonic looked up momentarily and placed a hand to the back of his neck. "Oh yeah, I don't know I feel like I've been in bed too long. Plus I really need to catch up on my homework."

He noticed his Uncle looking at him strangely, and at first he thought it was due to what he said. After though he realised his Uncle was looking at all his "battle marks" he liked to call them, he became self-conscious suddenly.

"Well if you want you can always take today off and work on it."

Sonic thought for a moment, but not about the suggestion. His mind focused on more of the consequence if he didn't go in today. No doubt everyone would have heard what had happened; probably Mrs. Winters telling her act of heroism to anyone who would listen. As stupid as the idea was that he would do such a thing, he only knew too well how much more believable it would be if he took the day off. All the kids, all his friends, all his enemies too, all of them talking about his emotional downfall, making him appear weak and pathetic… a loser… a freak.

He had to go today and tell people something… anything. Just show everyone he was still the coolest guy in the whole School and nothing was going to take that away!

He heard a small tap from the counter beside him and he looked down to see his Uncle had placed a coffee cup and a glass of water down.

"Right I had a look about these anti-depressants Quack recommended. Everything about them so far looks really good, there aren't many side effects but he said to look out for drowsiness and nausea, they might affect you the most. Also you'll probably gain some weight on with them so if I were you I'd keep eating the apples."

Sonic looked down at his half eaten apple, suddenly feeling like it was his last meal, "Gee thanks and this is to help me feel better about myself?"

"It's to help you Sonic" Chuck argued tiredly, already knowing his nephew was going to put up a fight due to his stubborn nature. He took out a small capsule and opened the lid, pouring out two pills and handing them to Sonic, who didn't take them.

"Uncle Chuck really I feel so much better today, I don't need them" he tried, he practically pleaded. Again though the older hedgehog was not giving in, "Yes you feel fine at the moment, now that you've had a decent sleep and something to eat. What about later though? If someone says something and you get upset? Or if you start to brood on what happened to you years ago? So will you please stop fighting me and take them already?"

After a pause, the teen sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. He took the pills out of the inventers hand and placed them in his mouth, taking a swig of water afterwards. He finished by opening his mouth wide with an aww and smiled widely.

With that Chuck smiled too. He affectionately patted the side of Sonic's cheek and left the kitchen with his own cup of coffee in hand.

Whether he had gone to his office or his lab Sonic didn't know, but as soon as the man had left the room he jumped from his stool and dashed to the kitchen sink. There he spat out the two pills he hid under his tongue and rinsed them away.

* * *

It was taking forever to get to School! He normally ran which only took him the better part of ten seconds, but now thanks to his hip locking for no real reason he was bound to do things the normal way. The SLOW way.

"Are we there yet?" he whined again, his feet up against the dash board which squashed his legs to his chest. Chuck reached over from the driver's side and gentle pushed his legs down, "For the last time yes and don't do that with your legs" he repeated.

"Whatever it's not like I'm going to go paralysed again."

"I'd rather we didn't take any risks"

Sonic folded his arms and looked out the window. As told they were only around the corner from the School, finally. They reached the car park and Chuck… drove straight past?

Why was he driving past the car park if…?

"Oh sweet chaos you are kidding me!" he ducked down below his window and pulled his large hood up over his head, trying to stretch it enough so it covered his face. His Uncle parked the car along the street right next to the School gate where everyone was coming and going. It was like a meeting of thousands of students, all just gathered around ready to point and laugh as he got out the car.

"What I thought I'd save you the walk"

"No I don't want loads of people seeing me get out of a car, they'll know something is wrong!" he snapped, pushing himself so far down like it would make him disappear.

"Sonny I'm sure no one is going to pay much attention to you just from getting out of a car" he argued passively. To what seemed silly to him was the end of the world to Sonic.

"You have no idea, you need to drive round" to Sonic it sounded very logical and easy, but yet his Uncle scoffed at him, "Really now, how about if I just buy a limousine and drive you in that, would you be okay seen in that?"

"No because they'll still know I can't run!" he protested, but in vain. He felt his Uncle reach for his hand and gave him a small reassuring squeeze. "Sonic I promise you, you'll be okay today" he smiled. For a moment Sonic allowed his kind words to flow through him, really focus on what he was saying and take in the tranquil feeling it gave him. He smiled in return, already feeling comforted.

"Don't hold my hand in public" he huffed before pulling his hand away. Chuck only laughed at the offence. "Alright, now remember you have your phone, if you feel you need to come home let me know first. Go to Robotnik, I have a meeting with him today so I'll ask him to keep an eye on you…"

Not surprisingly a chill ran through Sonic's spine.

"If you start getting panicky go to the nurse's office, even if you're in class, I'm sure they'll understand-"

"Chuck please!" Sonic groaned, not wanting to hear the safety speech again, feeling like he was five years old.

"Alright alright, now go on out the car. I love you my little Sonny-Wonny" he cooed mockingly while reaching out to give his nephew a big kiss.

"EW! No! Later" finally Sonic threw the car door open and jogged his way into School, ignoring all the stares he received from people.

He watched his Uncle drive away, still keeping the hood firmly over his head as if he was hiding his identity. He looked up at the tall, overbearing School gates. He pushed through pretending as if nothing was wrong.

Admittedly there were a number of students in his way, blocking his path and actually daring to push past him. His eyes casted around, few were looking at him and instantly the whispers started.

His head started to spin a little. It was like he was being pushed side to side with a great force, bounding to and fro like he was on a social ping pong table. In reality he just stood there, gawping at the amount of numbers that made up the crowd.

Closing his eyes he took a deep and well needed breath, inhaling through his nose and sighing through his mouth. It was almost as if time slowed down, and it felt good.

_This is it!_ He thought to himself. _There's going to be a lot of rumours, people will ask you questions, but you gotta stay on top! You do NOT show any more weakness! It's a new start, take it by the throat!_

Throwing his hood back, Sonic turned around to check that his Uncle was truly gone. With the car out of sight, he grinned his famous arrogant smile. With a solid swift move he dashed through the crowd of gossipers and left nothing but a streak of blue behind, kicking up the wind so dirt got in everyone's eyes and pushing down anyone that happen to be in the way, uncaring that they landed on gravel, grass and mud.

* * *

He was so lucky he didn't have Science today. Probably the one day he didn't, but even so it was a break he needed. He didn't think he was ready to face that classroom yet.

His first class was History, and the fact he had walked through the door had stunned pretty much everyone, his "friends", his fellow classmates and even the teacher. Everyone had been convinced he wouldn't have stepped foot in that School again. Yet he stood with his head high and proud, casually strolling to his normal seat, the spot only the really popular kids sit at, and placed his feet up onto the desk with his arms stretched behind his head.

For the whole day he acted as if a person staring was his life force, the only means he had of survival. It gave him a new found confidence he didn't think he'd have, not for a while at least. But he started to deal with things differently now. If he saw guys whispering about him he would walk up to them and threaten them. If a couple of girls were whispering about him he would approach them and play the charm, soon leaving them swooning and forgetting what they were originally talking about.

Not everything was working out great though. He had seen Sally for the first time in weeks, and even though she looked directly at him, she still quickly turned away to avoid him. Even after what everyone had said had happened; she still couldn't find it in her heart to at least talk to him? Even if the attempted suicide hadn't of been true she didn't know that, did she? Did she think he was the one lying about it?

Knuckles and the rest of his friends had tried to find him though, but he avoided them like the plague. He could only assume that they had heard about yesterday, but truth be told he honestly didn't know how they were all going to be with him. He didn't want to do things on their term; it was his way or not at all.

So when he made it through the School morning, he decided now was the time to show the School Sonic the Hedgehog was back for good.

"Move it nerds" he spat when a short, brace wearing owl with rounded glasses accidently got on his way after tripping on his own feet. Sonic's strong hand lashed out carelessly and pushed the kid to the floor, those around laughing when the owl's glasses cracked after the impact and left the boy in tears.

Sonic didn't even stay to watch, he focused only on the A-table, the table where only the most popular kids in the entire School sat. The table he was always in charge of. No one approached that table, normally students walk around to avoid it at all cost. Trying to fit on that table was like trying to have a picnic in a cave of a feral bear. It was his table, he was in control.

_It's my table, I'm in control._

His trembling hands went firmly into his jacket pockets.

_I'm in control, I'm in control, I'm in control, I'm in control… _

Ignoring those who were already sat down, Sonic stood behind the chair he normally sat at, the chair he'd be sitting at right now if it wasn't for this large fat gorilla implanting his butt cheeks into his fragile frame. Knuckles, Silver, Jet, everyone stared at him like he was the new kid everyone had been talking about. Half the group looked at him sadly (mostly the girls) and the other half glared with annoyance that he thought he could claim his old spot back.

"What are you doing?" Sonic's deep voice sounded, loud enough to get the attention of everyone else who wasn't already staring.

The table was silent, and the gorilla slammed his big fist on the table service, making a point to appear intimidating when he swung half his body around to face the blue hedgehog that was practically puny looking in comparison. However Sonic's low brow and slight smile never faulted, as if he saw he had the upper hand where no one else did.

The gorilla's face was scrunched up and wrinkled, defiantly not attractive, "You're in my spot" Sonic said.

Spitting, the gorilla smiled widely because a sharp loud cry of belly laughter erupted from his throat, casting it to be heard all around the lunch hall. Now everyone was watching.

"Are you kidding me? Can you believe this guy?" he pointed his fat sausage finger directly in Sonic's face, who never even faltered. The others on the table looked at each other before they forcefully and awkwardly laughed as well, avoiding eye contact with the blue speedster.

"Oh you crack me up. Sorry Sonic, but'uh this is the A-table. You'kno, cool kid stuff, not whiny emo's who gonna pass out with their shoes off" the larger teen said while wiping a tear from his eye, finally finishing the laughing that made Sonic feel like his ears were bleeding.

A wave of ooo's sounded across all the students, quite a few gathering round to get a better view of the show, and Sonic was never one to back down.

Still with the smile on his face, Sonic raised his brow, "Emo? Really?" he scoffed, "I'm sorry who exactly are you? Because no one has ever heard of you before, but now it looks like they just needed any random sucker to fill my space and they got you because if anyone else went from the group there's plenty of you to fill up the extra chairs."

OHHH BURN!

The gorilla glared angrily, always being sensitive about his weight. The students around them were chuckling to themselves at his expense and it only egged him on.

"You mean unlike ah scrawny stick like you? I see anorexic chicks take up more space then you. You wouldn't last one punch before you ended up in da hospital."

"By the time it took you to get off the chair I would have run three hundred laps around you and created a tornado powerful enough to get you of the ground. Of course the School would have gone up first."

Knuckles looked towards Silver, a smile slowly forming on both their faces. This was the Sonic they both knew.

"Oh yeah, you have that freak power thingy. Maybe you should run off now and head towards the freak table over there with the other losers and leave us real guys to chill m'kay?"

The air was practically filled with tension and no one dared make a sound in case they missed out on this totally entertaining fight.

Sonic looked down at the gorilla, so much could be read behind that growing smile, the smile that would convince you he had won, and few were actually rooting for him.

"Tell you what, stand up in three seconds and I'll leave"

A growl sounded from the gorilla while his fist banged down onto the table again. But he slowly changed, no longer appearing angry or livid, but his smile started to match Sonic's own.

"Come on bud, it's nothing to hang yourself over"

For once Sonic looked stunned, his smile gone and his eyes wide and appalled.

The gorilla took it as his victory; he threw his arms into the air and turned his back to the hedgehog, ready to get all the attention off his new friends.

In a split Sonic second, the crowds that were currently hailing the winner were left startled and quiet. Knuckles, along with everyone else, jumped from their chair and stood in awe.

The gorilla was now lying on the floor, his nose bleeding heavily and his eye bruised. He couldn't move from the unnatural strength Sonic had in his legs, his red shoe pressing firmly down onto the back of the monkey's neck while with only one hand he held the giants arm out of place, twisting so his arm rested on his back and his wrist and knuckles cracked in unnatural directions.

The gorilla was squirming, wriggling and actually crying. Sonic just stood proudly, showing off to everyone what he had just done. His smile had never been more smug, his eyes hadn't glowed this much in weeks, he finally felt like himself again.

He was feared by everyone. No one was making any attempt to help the gorilla, nor was anyone trying to talk him into letting go. If Teachers were watching then they were making no attempt either, but they were scared of him too.

"Trust me I'm not the one who needs to be worried"

With a final push to prove his point, Sonic finally let the gorilla go, who hurriedly scurried to his feet and ran out of the room with sobs that were just as loud as his laughter.

The stunned-dear-in-headlights silence that loomed among the paled fearful faces instantly broke apart into loud cheers, whistles and applauds. His old friends ran to his side and clapped him on the back, pulling him back and forth to get his attention and praise him as if he had done some amazing heroic act. It was feeling he treasured.

He wanted to take it further though, show everyone that he truly was back on top. He raised his fist high in the air and laughed as everyone cheered.

"Let's get Anti-Social!" he cried out loudly, which was followed with rooting and praise as the whole body of students sang his words like a chorus in a war cry.

With a sudden charge Sonic led the couple hundreds of students out of the lunch hall, leaving only the members of staff who were outnumbered or too intimidated to do anything to stop him. Only two students stayed behind, the white bat sulked in her chair while placing an arm around the pink hedgehog who simply rolled her eyes.

"That boy is impossible, even when he's killing himself people still do what he says" Rouge groaned, feeling as if her work load just increased by a mile.

Amy felt no different, "He always does this, and everyone always gets into detention at the end because he wants to get his kicks" she remarked. Rouge shook her head and gripped onto the girls shoulder, being sure to get her full attention. "If we want to break him down, we got to destroy his popularity. We need to up our game, promise you won't let me down" she smiled deviously.

Amy simply nodded, feeling she was ready.

Robotnik sat with a cup of tea in his hands, sipping lightly as the steam brushed through his moustache.

"Robotnik Sir, you simply must tell us about the little incident yesterday, I heard the police had to be called" a much older skunk wearing heavy painted lips asked, as she also drank up her tea, her gap teeth being shown clearly due to her overbite.

Another teacher who sat next to her was originally marking paperwork stopped to join in the conversation, "I heard it involved Sonic, the weird blue kid. Ugh he is awful, I hope they arrested him."

"Now now ladies, it wasn't quite that good. You see what really happened was Sonic tried to hang himself in Mrs. Winters Science room, apparently he was trying to get back at her for all the detentions she gave him, going as far as calling her a Bitch! He scared the poor woman to death, I've had to give her time off with pay" the large man corrected, shaking his head pitifully.

"Oh poor Mrs. Winter, she'll be scared for life!"

"Yes indeed, I have a meeting with Sonic's Uncle later; I think we need to discuss-"

He paused, his brow raising high as a faint sound rang through his ears. He looked at the other teachers but it seemed as if they had heard it too, "What is that awful sound?"

"It sounds like… shouting?"

Another new sound was heard followed by a high pitch wail as a large rock shattered through the glass window and bounced across the ground, stopping at Robotnik's feet.

Whereas the other teachers became frantic and panicked, the larger man calmly placed his cup of tea upon the end table, a loud muttering groan passing through his lips. Standing up he walked towards the broken window, his hands folded behind his back and his brow firmly meeting the top of his nose as he glared to the sight below him.

Every student ran rampant, throwing rocks through windows, covering the trees, benches and other miscellaneous items in toilet paper, digging up the plants; all in all, causing one huge rebellious riot.

He glared down at one boy imparticular, the one who seemed to be in the centre of it all and acted like the leader.

The boy who had been known to have pretended the School was a war ground and rallied up students like this many times before, each riot getting worse then the last.

It was a Sonic sized war.

* * *

** Hope you enjoyed and please leave a reveiw. I'm going to bed :D**


	18. Remember The Deal

**Okay it's not mega long but it's an update.**

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews on my last story, also just want to say if you read the last chapter when it was first uploaded I re-wrote the riot scene. I didn't like it, it's all explained in the last chapter.**

**Sorry for any mistakes and such, I leave this now in your reading powers.**

**Enjoy :) **

* * *

The echoes of thuds kept the air filling from an awkward silence. Robotnik tapping his fingers upon his desk in a rhythm, looking aggravated with an unspoken defeat. Sonic sat opposite, his arms falling over and a slick smile bearing side to side.

Nothing was said for the moment, each person weighing the other one up and guessing a reaction like it was a chess game.

Finally Robotnik made his move. He placed a hand to his forehead and rubbed his temples, giving an audible sigh. "You certainly know how to get attention don't you" he grumbled.

A simple shrug and Sonic chuckled "Are you implying I had some sort of influence in this? I am hurt!"

The sarcasm burned at Robotnik's ears. He growled before slamming his hand down upon the desk loudly, startling the jumpy hedgehog. "Well this wouldn't exactly be the first time now would it?"

He stood up from his chair and walked closer, "The amount of property damage I've had due to your little 'roundups' is costing the School a fortune! Broken windows, toilet paper all over the yards, graffiti on staff photo's…"

He paused when the hedgehog scoffed, so he raised his brow and snarled, "Something amusing is it? Let's see how amusing you find it when Chuck finds the bill with all the charges!" he spat angrily, lowering himself down enough to get into the teenagers face.

Sonic stared at him, his chin resting peacefully on his palm as he questioned the man with his eyes. "You're actually going to charge me this time? Because you know I don't think that would be very smart given I have information you wouldn't my Uncle to find out…" he played confidently. But he was taken aback when Robotnik straightened himself up "No."

"Huh?"

With a slight pace the man placed his hands behind his back nonchalantly, Sonic only watched him with suspicion.

"You and I are at odds, let's not forget that. Indeed you have the cards on one hand, you tell your Uncle what happened and I lose any chance of working with him again."

"Not to mention we'll go to the police and you'll be in a cell along with Mrs. Winterbreath" Sonic butted in, proving his point. Robotnik showed no acknowledgement. He walked over to his file cabinet and pulled out one of the draws.

"HOWEVER! You forget one very important thing. I have the record for every single act you ever did in this School" he pulled out the folder that Sonic knew all too well. He winced inwardly at the sight of it.

"How do you suppose your Uncle will react, hm? All he'll need to do is see just a couple of these reports and he finds out exactly what kind of person you really are. He talks about you as if you were something special, so kind and caring and oh such a good boy" the Principal cooed mockingly. Sonic no longer faced him, but turned to stare at the desk in front of him, not able to hide his anguish but not wanting Robotnik to see it.

"If he reads this, he sees you for who you really are" Robotnik started to advance on him, his shadow practically covering the hedgehog, "He'll see that you're no different than Shadow."

Sonic jumped from his chair and faced the older man, his eyes wide and his lips agape. "I am nothing like Shadow! That guy was a psychopath, he tried to kill me several times for no reason. He used to bring weapons into School, he made younger kids eat glass, he tried to set the School on fire!" he yelled, feeling himself get more distress with each word he spoke, "I know I'm not good but I am nothing compared to Shadow!"

Robotnik felt the creaks of a grin form under his moustache, "And yet if we look at your folder, you have been reported to broken a girls leg, set off a lot of cyber-attacks, several cases where you attacked other students and teachers leaving them with either scars and bruises, caused several riots today making it a total of five, and apparently in recent events you also tried to set the School on fire. Not exactly far off are you?"

"What? No! I didn't try to set the School on fire, Mrs. Winters was lying!" he tried to protest, but even he knew how much time it would only have wasted.

"Answer me; do you think your Uncle would still love you if he found out that you weren't the greatest child to have ever lived?"

Sonic kept his head down, momentarily thinking, "Yes… we're family"

Robotnik placed the folder back in its place and locked the draw once it was shut, "So you say."

Sonic felt his cheeks start to flush and his heart beginning to race in his chest. Suddenly the room was too warm as he just stared, his eyes locked on Robotnik as if he would suddenly pounce at him.

"… I"

A knock came from the door, and both snapped their heads to look as if the door was telling them who it was. Robotnik shook his head and turned back to the blue teen next to him, "Like I said, we're both at odds here, so you keep your mouth shut and I'll keep mine. I've spent a lot of years keeping angry parents from going direct to your Uncle so how about you do the same?"

"Deal" Sonic sighed, all his confidence once again lost as he felt any control he had gotten back that one day had been taken from him. But it was okay, he could pull through this, he always did.

With that Robotnik dismissed him and he picked up his bag and headed to the door. He was almost out before the man spoke up once again. "As for the damage from today, I recon detention for the rest of the School year will make up for it."

"UGH!" Sonic exasperated, throwing his head back "You're not serious right?"

"Oh I am, not only that but I believe Mrs. Winters will be happy to supervise you during that time."

Sonic gasped at him, completely horrified at his words, "No… No you can't…"

"It's settled then, starting tomorrow, you may leave now" with that he turned his back and sat down at his desk, no longer acknowledging Sonic was there.

The hedgehog was frozen, he felt tears sting at the brim of his eyes but he refused to let them fall. With trembling hands he opened the door and rushed outside, palpitations racing through his head as he felt he could no longer see where he was going. Absentmindedly he bumped into someone and felt warm hands hold onto his arms to stop him from falling.

"Sonny boy, what were you doing in the Principals office?"

He looked up into his Uncles eyes, so many questions running through his mind. Why was he here? Thoughtlessly looking back into the office where Robotnik sat, he faced his Uncle with a small reassuring smile, "Nothing… it's fine" he said. He pulled his way from his Uncle's hold and carried on down the corridor, leaving the man behind confused.

When he turned the corner, he stopped and listened.

"Was everything alright?"

"Of course, I was just checking up to see how he was getting on after yesterday. Come in, we have much to discuss…"

The door then closed.

Sonic released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in and he threw his head back into the wall. So long as he kept his mouth shut, he knew Robotnik would too… But now he had Mrs. Winter to deal with, Robotnik was covering for her after all.

If he had any chance of stopping them and getting away with his past staying there, he needed to get that file.

* * *

The door swung opened widely and accidently hit against the wall. The young fox had tried to catch it but had no luck in stopping the loud thud it had made.

Just as he suspected his mother's voice sounded from the kitchen again, "Miles honey, be careful with that door."

"Sorry mum" the child called back, kicking his shoes off his feet. Normally he would have just left them and run to his room, but ever since the rain the ground had been muddy and he wanted to preserve the niceness of his new shoes as long as possible. Hanging on the side of the shoe rack Tails had placed a small towel, he picked it up and quickly polished the shoes, wiping any mud off them until they looked good as new.

He placed them down on the top of the shoe rack and smiled happily at them. Then he finally ran to his room.

Flopping onto his bed, he forgot that he had a lot of books and pencils spread out from the work he was doing this morning and now he was lying on half of them. He pushed them aside and placed his bag next to him, picking out his phone and throwing his head down on the pillow, similar to the way Sonic had done so when he was on his phone.

He ran through his contacts (there wasn't that many) until he found the name he wanted.

Patiently he waited through the dial tones until a voice finally answered.

_Hey buddy where you been all day? _

Tails actually felt butterflies through his stomach when he heard the fastest hedgehog on the planet call him buddy. Buddy! Sometimes Tails felt he had to pinch himself to make sure it wasn't just a dream. He had wanted Sonic's friendship for so long, even if the hedgehog used to knock him down and call him a mutant. Maybe he was shallow or maybe desperate for friends, either way Sonic was his friend now and all was forgiven… mostly.

"I've been fine, I've been working in the Science lab all week with a few of the teachers. Good news they said if I do well in the Science Exposition they'll give me the credits I need not only to make up for failing the Science project but also enough to cover gym. I'll have the option to skip another year" he said excitedly.

_Yeah that's great, mind lending me a few credits cause I think I failed this year._

"Oh sorry…" Tails cringed now feeling bad for showing off, but then his eyes widened as an idea came to him, "You know if you wanted you could work on the project with me. It might earn you just enough credits to pass the year, than you'll get to be with all your friends"

_… Umm… whatever, I guess I don't have many options so sure._

"Really? You'll help me on my project?"

_Yeah that's what I said right?_

"Great, it's gonna be amazing! Do you want to come over to my house? I can show you the ideas I have so far, I'm making a new kind of engine that-"

_Sorry pal but I'm out with the guys at the moment, I got a lot of drinking to catch up on. But I'll see at School tomorrow right? We'll catch up then, later bud._

"No wait Sonic, one last thing. Today at School, a few of the kids said um… well… is it true?" he asked shyly, his voice breaking up feeling so afraid to ask that question. He heard a sigh come from the phone line.

_Tails, don't believe everything you hear okay. See you later kiddo._

With that he hung up.

Tails stared up at his phone, his brows drawn together sadly. With a sigh of his own he pushed himself up and looked at all the books on his bed, most of them Science books he was using for information. On top of them all was the medical journal.

He picked it up from the pile and for what felt like the hundredth he flipped through, page after page. Most of it were notes written by Sonic himself, stating how he felt after each treatment he had. He looked through all the different medications that were listed but none of that was what he was looking for. Nothing came close to what he was wanting.

When he first saw the medical journal he had expected it to contain a full anatomy report, a full diagram going head to toe on Sonic's structure.

In the back of the journal there was a section for one, a diagram already drawn out ready but no information to fill it. He didn't understand why they hadn't done this research yet. Sonic was a medical wonder, why were doctors not looking into how it was possible for him to move at such speeds and not burn up?

Tails had been experimenting for a long time with different metals, he wanted to find the perfect material for his engine but with the high level of power he was using nothing could be stable without weighing it down. He needed to come up with something new, this was the invention that would change his life. He needed to know how Sonic worked.

He needed Sonic power.

The journal had been a bust though. It was completely useless and only left him with the feeling of guilt and betrayal.

He tossed the journal to the book pile and sighed, resting his chin on his hands. His eyes wondered over all the books, all the knowledge that they held. He wasn't in the mood to read any of them, or to carry on his work. He pushed them all to the bottom of his bed before climbing under his covers. It was far too early for bed but he felt drained from working so much.

He picked up the small book that was on his night stand and flipped to the page he was last on.

_Yo diary, how you been?_

_It's been a few weeks I know, last time I wrote I think I had just been invited to Brock's party. One sec I'll check. Yup that was what I wrote._

_Well a few weeks ago I almost backed out, I really didn't want to go, I thought it was some kind of prank that I actually got invited, but Chuck was all like No you should go, you'll make new friends blah blah blah. I didn't even have friends to begin with so what difference was a party going to make._

_Oh sweet mother of chao!_

_The party was epic! It was all in this guy's Manor house and they had everything. The music was so cool and a girl asked me to dance with her. A real girl! And she said I was cute. _

_Funny enough I actually did make a friend, Knuckles- good old knuckle head. At first we got in a fight, apparently it was his girl I was dancing with :S_

_Well he started getting mad, and before I knew it he pushed me and everyone surrounded us expecting a fight. Then I had one of those weird out of body moments like… I dunno time stopped and I realised, these people have no idea who I actually am. I mean I never ran in School before, no one even knew my name I just sat by myself in the lunch hall and no one cared. Getting the invite was a miracle in itself. Anyway, I thought that since these people don't know me, I could be any one I wanted. _

_Before I knew it I had used my speed for the first time in months and Knuckles was on the floor with me sitting on top of him. I had no idea what people were thinking so I just cheered myself and rubbed it in his face that I had won… maybe a little too wildly, I had a bit to drink lol._

_Funny enough though everyone joined in, they loved me! Knuckles was actually cool with me too, who knew beating someone up got you respect. I need to remember that._

_Ever since then people at School started noticing me. They all give me high fives and a girl gave me her number, so did her friends but I didn't tell her that. I don't sit by myself like a loser anymore, Knuckles invited me to sit with him and Silver, he's pretty cool. I like to make fun of his hair, it looks like a weed plant._

The words started to blur until they eventually went black. The diary fell down and landed over the young foxes eyes before light snores echoed through his room.

* * *

Night time had come and Chuck had remained in his living room watching the T.V, he had done so for the past couple hours, only now Muttskie had joined him and fallen asleep on his lap. Every so often his eyes would drift back to the clock on the wall, and then afterward he'd check his watch just to make sure the time was right. It was only about 11 o'clock now but he still refused to leave the room. He had called Sonic before to check up on him, several times. Sonic had promised he'd be back before midnight. The wait was killing him though. He wasn't late back but he felt so stressed when his mind raked through different possibilities that may have laid Sonic in trouble.

Yes he was with friends, yes they were in town, yes if he had to Sonic could run home in a matter of seconds. But the boy was only fifteen; he wasn't even an adult yet. He should have convinced him to come home, especially after all he had been through. It made him feel so irresponsible, yet Sonic had begged, saying he needed to hang out with his friends again. He hadn't seen them for a while.

Chuck checked the clock again, 11:05.

The door finally opened and he heard the sound of laughing coming from outside. He heard a few teen voices say goodbye before the door closed on them and left Sonic standing alone and giggling away to himself.

Hearing the sound of him kicking off his shoes and unzipping his jacket, Chuck smiled to himself lightly and rested himself in the pillow he sat against, content that Sonic seemed okay.

Shortly the said teen emerged from the hallway and entered the living room, smiling at his Uncle who greeted him kindly.

"Hey Unc" Sonic yarned tiredly, rubbing at his eyes. He came to the side of Chuck that wasn't taken up by the dog and sat himself down. He curled his legs under himself and wrapped his arms around his Uncle's torso, resting his head on his chest.

"Was everything alright? Nothing bad happen?" Chuck questioned, keeping his arms around his nephew who looked already asleep.

"Nah everything was fine. See I didn't stay out late, if anything I came back an hour before my curfew, I should get an award for that."

"10 o'clock IS your curfew, I let you off this time because you said there was an adult with you."

"There was don't worry" Sonic laughed, closing his eyes and listening to his Uncle's heartbeat. He could easily have fallen asleep there and then, but something weighed on his mind.

"So how come you were at School today?"

Chuck couldn't help but run a hand through Sonic's quills, slowly rising to his ear where he pinched it lightly, "I told you I had a meeting with Robotnik today. We were just talking about what happened and if further action was needed. However with you seeing the therapist soon I think things will be alright. He said he'd keep an eye out for you."

"Sure he will" Sonic murmured while rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, a question for you. What happened at School today? A few windows were broken and there was toilet paper everywhere. Robotnik said there was a riot going on or something."

"Oh yeah… Some kid at lunch time was being a dork and decided to throw rocks and stuff, everyone else joined in for fun" Sonic again lied.

Chuck raised his brow, "And what about you?"

"Me? No way, I was in the Science lab with Tails. We're working on another project together, gonna get some extra credit, it will be great for when I look into college" the lies kept on coming.

"Wait you mean to tell me you're interested in Science now?"

Sonic paused a moment. For years Chuck had tried to spark an interest and while Sonic was good with numbers, Science just went over his head, "Well it's more helping Tails, but it's cool I guess."

He knew it wasn't the answer Chuck was hoping for, but had he said he loved Science Chuck would have tried to teach him more and he really didn't have the patience for it. Not now anyway.

Luckily his Uncle didn't push on anymore, but left it at that.

"Fair enough, I hope it goes well. Come to me if you boys need help okay? Now go on, go to bed" he said before placing a small kiss on Sonic's forehead then pushing the boy off him.

Sonic groaned but finally did as he was told.

He had wanted to tell Chuck about the Big game, but he had yet to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why he was kicked off the team. It was something he'd sleep on.

* * *

**Not much of a cliff hanger but this seemed like a good place to end it. **

**Please leave a review and I'll see you next time :)**


	19. Jet's Party

**Okay guys! This is it! I finally got to a key point in the story. I thought I'd have gotten here a few chapters back but nah, had too many details. **

**I wrote it like this so as to get on with the story really, instead of dragging it on to write more boring chapters to fill in details I'll just put it in one chapter to get things moving. I might end up doing it a few times I dunno. **

**Anyway a big thank you for the reviews! They are such a great motivation, I love hearing what you guys think of the story, good and bad to be honest because at least I know what to work on. So yeah if you guys keep reviewing I'll keep updating. Sound good? Sound good :)**

**Sorry for any mistakes, you know the jist.**

**Enjoy the chapter xx**

* * *

It was harder then he thought it would be. The past couple of days… It was almost like they had been a blur, a mindless, torment of time that pushed him around where he could take no more.

Around him people screamed, cheered, stood from the bleachers and cried out. A lot of people from his School but also a lot of adults, parents really, all falling over themselves in a wild cry of thrill and excitement.

Sonic sat in the middle of it all, beneath all the people who stood and blocked him from the view of the world. He pulled his hood over his head, his large quills being flattered down and falling on his shoulders. The hood shaded his eyes, making it impossible for anyone to see the hurt that was in them. For once no tears fell from them, he didn't tremble and he breathed calmly; yet his heart was in pieces.

So much had happened in a short span of time, too much for him to be able to handle.

He had finally done it. The whole School was back in the palm of his hand. People treated him with respect, moved out of his way, sucked up to him when they wanted his attention. But then he saw her.

When he walked back into that classroom, forced into detention by Robotnik who was there to make sure he went. The door was shut behind him, he heard it lock.

The blinds were closed, the opera music was playing… the desks had been moved and only a chair was left in the middle of the classroom.

Sonic placed his palm to his eyes, stopping the tears before they could come, his only moment of emotion since he sat in the bleachers. The memory of what she did… His fur was blue, so no one saw the bruises that covered his legs. He refused to show his bare feet to anyone, so no one saw the scars or burns, making every step he took utter agony. He stopped taking his jacket off in front of his Uncle, in front of anyone. All he did was smile as if nothing was wrong.

He hurt so badly.

Another wave of cheer ran through the entire stadium, his team all worked together to get the ball away from the opposing team, a rival School they had an intense competition with in every sport. Sonic always led them to victory, he scored every goal, he was on every defence, he did everything. His friends often sat on the side, or just stood to show he wasn't the only one on the field and that him playing with his speed was legal. Coach always praised him, put him first, this was his game!

Now they didn't need him. The team was winning… without him.

He wanted to play, but he couldn't bear to face the Coach about the matter, not after being humiliated like that. He guessed no one had mocked him further about the incident on the pitch due to the rumour that the whole School had passed around. It was something that was still being passed around.

Uncle Chuck had offered to go to the game with him. To sit with him in the crowd and watch a game he only supported because his nephew played. Sonic had declined. He manipulated him to avoid telling the truth. Instead of telling him he had been kicked off the team he had asked his Uncle if he could play, given the Doctors orders not to run. Chuck looked so devastated when he had to tell him no, tell him that he wasn't well enough and he wouldn't be in time. Sonic had gone too far, he played him further to get more from him. He shouted and snapped, blaming his Uncle for ruining his dreams and taking his chance away from a Scholarship. When he stormed to his room and Chuck followed, he knew he had done wrong with how guilty the older man looked. He was devastated for him and offered him anything he wanted to make up for it; new phones, more games, a better computer, anything to get his mind off it. Sonic just wanted to be left alone.

He avoided his Uncle after that up until this moment; he didn't want him to see how much it hurt to sit in the bleachers. He didn't want anyone to see, so he told his friends he would be there for the game, he would go to the party and he would be in control. It was what they were expecting of him.

Sonic didn't think he'd have to see Mrs. Winters again. For half an hour he sat in her classroom and for once she never touched him. All she did was talk to him, tell him the truth. The truth about how people really felt of him. She had found a blog online recently that people had made and commented on. It was devoted entirely to him and she read it to him.

It was a petition. A petition to have him killed.

He didn't know who wrote it or who commented because it was all anonymous, but she read to him gladly what was said, how people wanted to rip him limb from limb, shoot him down in the street or drag him into and alley and torture him. Every comment and every form getting into detail, one becoming more graphic then the last. She made him write them all down as she read them.

It made him snap and he couldn't take it anymore.

Running as far away from the School as he could, in a matter of seconds he was at the outskirts of the city and running along the train tracks in the forest. He hid himself under the trees and kept of running forward. He not long found the old warehouse on the top of the cliff in Mystic Ruins. He always came when he wanted to get away, the warehouse was abandoned and no one knew about it.

When he rushed inside, he found the old mirror. It was the only thing he wanted.

The crowd cheered. A standing ovation as people grew wilder. The game was over and his team had won. Sonic never cheered.

He stared at his friends, the held up the trophy high for everyone to see, taking in all the praise and love from the crowed. He saw the College Reps talking to his former Coach; he saw them nod and shake hands, beaming at the efforts of his team.

The team that didn't need him.

A woman pushed passed him to leave the bleachers, but her bag fell and caught his wrist. Sonic hissed sharply and pulled his arm to his chest, his other hand clutching protectively. The woman didn't notice as she was almost gone.

He looked down once the pain felt less intense. He pulled down the edges of his sleeves, lightly revealing white wrapping, an old dust sheet he had found in the warehouse. He saw the crimson red that leaked through, it was patchy and faded. He breathed deeply, hands starting to tremble as he frowned.

He hadn't meant to, it just happened!

He saw his reflection, and saw how truly ugly he was. He couldn't control himself anymore.

"Sonic!"

He quickly pulled his sleeve down and placed his arm away. Looking up he saw a young fox running up the steps, pushing awkwardly pass the crowd, almost amusingly had Sonic been in the mood.

"Sonic" the child cried out again when he was near the hedgehog's side. Before he could respond though, he felt the child throw his small arms around his chest when the kid sat down next to him. Bewildered he kept his arms at bay, not returning the gesture before Tails finally let him go. With a short laugh Sonic pulled his hood back from his head, "Umm okay. What was that for?"

Tails smile never faltered as he looked genuinely happy, "I missed you, I thought you were coming to help me on my Science project but didn't. It's okay though I made some amazing progress, I just need you to help me work on it" he said. He thought differently though.

_I know you're upset. You wrote how much Football meant to you in your diary. _

Sonic smiled at him kindly, "Okay that's cool, but don't make a habit out of the hugging okay" he laughed. Tails nodded bashfully.

"Well we all know my excuse, how come you weren't on the filed tonight?"

Tails placed his hands together and twiddled his thumbs bashfully "In all honestly after you left and everyone was being mean, I walked up to the Coach in front of everyone and quit the team."

Sonic raised his brow, "Really?" he asked, taken aback as to why the fox would do this, "How did they take it?"

"They all laughed at me… and started to celebrate" he sighed sadly.

"Ouch" Sonic said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah. But it's okay, it's no fun when you're not there anyway."

Sonic laughed light-heartedly, "Thanks kiddo. They just don't know what their missing."

A genuine smile formed on Tails features, he actually felt a sense of peace… talking to his best friend. Now that he knew who he really was.

"Well I better go. I got a totally wicked party to improve with my awesomeness."

"Can I come?"

Sonic looked at the fox with a raised brow, smiling in amusement. "Trust me kiddo this isn't like those imaginary parties where you pretend to have tea with a bunch of teddy bears okay. Catch you later bud" Sonic announced while placing his hands on his knees and standing up from the bleachers. He turned his back to the fox and walked away.

"Wait Sonic! I wanted to talk… to you" Tails frowned sadly, his ears and shoulders drooping lowly. He reached into his bag and pulled out the diary, looking at it with sad blue eyes. "I wanted to say sorry" he mumbled before holding the diary close to his chest and embracing it.

* * *

The door had been left wide open so Sonic had just walked right in. He might not as well have, the party wasn't just house bound, it seemed to stretch on past the front yard and into the next door neighbours where must have been away from home, or they were okay with drunk kids making out on their porches.

Music was blaring loud enough to be heard everywhere. There were even smoke machines and neon lights blinding those nearby where a lot of students showed off their amazing dance skills in their drunken state.

Jet always threw a good party.

When Sonic walked in he was literally pushing passed crowds of people. He moved a couple out of his way when they failed to notice him trying to get past by actually picking the shorter person up and putting them down on his side. Angry at first when seeing it was Sonic the girl who was picked up blushed and instantly gloated with her friends when he walked away.

More people not paying attention, so when a guy threw his lips down on his girl and they engaged in a tongue wrestling match Sonic had to dodge out of their way to avoid being knocked over. It wasn't so bad though; the guy was too distracted to notice Sonic take his drink out of his hand. The house was so full he couldn't see where the drinks were coming from.

In what felt like hours, he finally found the group of friends he was searching for.

"Silver!" he cried out over the music, catching the hedgehogs attention before going over.

"Hey pal where you been all this time?" Silver shouted back, slapping Sonic on the shoulder. Espio, Jet, and a few others were in the group.

"Yo Sonic, you got your shoes on this time, it's not that kinda party you know" Jet laughed hysterically at his own joke, others joined in.

For a moment Sonic felt nauseous with anxiety, but ignored it. "Shut up dude, I was getting it on with this total babe from senior year. We were in the locker room for some sweet few hours if you know what I mean. Gloves up and shoes off!" he cheered, the guys around going crazy. "Sonic my man you are the living legend!" he received along with high fives and bro fists.

"Oh man I am totally wasted. Hey man what happened in Science, they said you tried to off yourself, that true?"

Sonic went pale as he was instantly put on the spot, all his friends now staring at him. His heart started to race, "What no that was a load of crap."

"No yeah we all saw first aid, you tried to hang yourself, dude why?" A new voice another question.

"N-no, that's not what happened…"

"Have you seen online, people are totally gonna kill you. Ah man you said some messed up things on SpaceBook"

"Hey yeah you told everyone about my dad having a fight and getting arrested, dude what the hell? How did you even know about that?"

"You think that's bad? He put on about my girlfriend cheating on me, you didn't even tell me first!"

"Did you hear what he said about me?"

Sonic felt so small suddenly. His voice left him as he stood at the mercy of this now growing crowd that seemed to loom over him, angry and threatening.

Without saying another word he left quickly. He pushed past through people to get away from the accusations. His head spun wildly and he couldn't focus on anything anymore. The room span in circles, he wasn't sure if people were on the ground or the ceiling.

His hand went to his heart where he felt a pain grow, tightening around his chest. Tears rose to the brim of his eyes and he knew he had to get out of there. Finding the stairs, he rushed up them and ran to the nearest room.

Not far away a brown chipmunk had seen, "Sonic?" she shouted out, but the moment she saw a glimpse of blue it had faded away into the crowd of brightly coloured animals. She sighed in disappointment, ready to go follow him.

Pushing past a few people she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her off course, taking her for a walk in the wrong direction.

Looking at who it was she scowled and pushed the girl away, "Rouge! What are you doing here?" she snapped angrily to the white bat girl she detested. Rouge pouted with humour in her eyes, "How rude, I was invited like everyone else. Everyone knows you need a ten present to make a party look hot" she grinned.

Sally rolled her eyes, "Yeah like you're really a ten, I'd say two at the most, given you're practically look like trash" she started to walk away but Rouge cut in front of her.

"Woah hey, let's not get bitchy here. Come on, all I want is some girl talk here that's all" the bat spoke calmly, still with a glossy smile. Sally shook her head, "Is this about Sonic? Because I'm not interested in anymore of your little lies. You broke up with him, remember? So leave us alone already!" she tried to storm away from her again, but Rouge caught her arm.

"He's cheated on you Sally. Don't you get it? I know I've said things in the past but Sonic isn't exactly the most truthful person either. Like you said, I broke up with him and he told everyone he dumped me. He's a notorious liar and you know it" she said firmly, all games gone and now being serious.

Sally glared at her, not wanting to listen, "He's different. He loves me, he would never hurt me like that. He's not perfect but he is with me" she argued.

"Really now? Then why was Amy alone with him in his room?"

Sally froze, her eyes wide and cold, "How did you know that?" her voice broke.

Rouge stared her dead in the eye, fixated with honesty and truth, "Because he put it on SpaceBook. Remember?" with that she left Sally alone, her words sinking in as doubt filled her mind.

The girl went to look for him.

* * *

Stumbling into the nearest room he could find, Sonic saw that a couple were already occupying it as they lay on the bed making out.

"Hey!" the hedgehog cried out, getting their attention. They looked up and the male wolf glared, "Dude come on, I put a tie on the door!"

"That's great now get out!" Sonic said firmly, opening the door for them to leave. Fortunately they stood hand in hand and left him alone in the room; he slammed the door harshly after them and ran to the bed.

He sat down and placed his head into his hands.

As he hiccupped his grief he finally felt like the world had slowed down. He couldn't hear the loud music or feel the crowds bashing into him. It was just Sonic all alone.

He wiped at his eyes, the pain in his chest subsiding. Now that he was sat and his mind was off certain matters he started to realise how much his legs hurt. The mussels aching fiercely from just standing in the crowd and he didn't understand why.

He took another deep breathe, feeling like his nerves had settled and that whatever was wrong with him had passed. Trouble was now that he didn't know if he should stay or just go home.

He wanted to go home, badly, but his reputation was so broken at the moment what would happen come Monday when the whole School hears he left the greatest party of the year. He is always the last one to leave the party and most of the time he befriends the host and they just let him stay over till morning.

He really didn't know what to do anymore.

He heard the door open behind him, and he quickly wiped his face to hide any tears that had fallen.

"Sonic" he heard a soft female voice call out.

"Amy?" he turned around to see the pink hedgehog walk up to his side slowly. She wore her new dress again; he loved that dress on her. The sports tape, her trainers making her look cool and edgy. He had never seen her look so hot before.

She sat down next to him; his eyes left her body and stared into hers.

"Is everything okay? You don't look so good" she asked sweetly, showing genuine concern as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

He scoffed, "Thanks"

"No come on, you know what I mean."

He looked away from her, an awkward smile upon his face as he wasn't sure what to say. "What do you want from me… I'm fine" he answered.

Amy frowned at him, "It's not like you to hide away from a party."

He simply shrugged his shoulders, still refusing to look at her. She linked her arm around his and lightly rested her body on his arm. "Is it about what happened at School the other day… In the Science lab?"

"Oh my gosh is that all you people can think about? Because there's other things going on too you know!" Sonic cried out, pushing her away from him and storming away from the bed.

"All everyone can talk about is 'What happened in the Science lab? Why did you try to kill yourself? Blah blah blah' Well I didn't! Okay, I didn't do it!" He faced her; she looked at him stunned as he felt the tears return to his eyes.

"I didn't do anything. I didn't write that stuff on SpaceBook, I didn't make up a load of rumours, I didn't even know any of that stuff. And now I'm the one who suffers for it!

My girlfriend hates me! My friends think I'm a joke, no one in the School likes me and when I stand in that crowd I am so distracted looking around just trying to work out which one of them have been writing death threats about me!" He shouted angrily as his temper flared up badly, but his voice started to break.

"I don't know what to do okay! I'm lost, I-I don't know anymore! What do I do Amy, huh? What do I do?"

Amy bit her lip; she didn't know what to say to him. She didn't dare say anything.

"Exactly, you don't know. Nobody knows what's going on, no one has any idea what the truth is and I have to deal with it!" he grew more hectic with every word he spoke, "You know what maybe the rumours should be true, maybe I should just kill myself and end this whole stupid thing. I'm going to die anyway, right? I'm going to die! It's going to happen. What difference does it make if it's tomorrow or eighty years, there's no way out!" He sniffed loudly as his face became grievous, tears falling and staining his mussel as he stared at Amy with pleading eyes.

The pink hedgehog quickly rushed to him, she put her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to her shoulder, embracing him as he finally broke down and wept.

She led him to the bed where they both sat down, he hung his head shamefully while she rubbed her hand along his leg in comfort, "Sonic" she whispered softly while cupping his face.

He started to rub at his eyes but struggled to contain himself. "A-Amy… I don't know what to do anymore… I can't tell my Uncle because he'll find out what I did and he might not even want me in his life anymore. I lose my home, my family, everything! I could be homeless!" he sobbed loudly.

"But if I don't she'll keep hurting me, she'll keep making rumours around School a-and… and there's nothing I can do, I just… I don't know what to do."

He looked up at her and in a moment stared deep into her green eyes longingly, "please…" he whispered, his lips quivering as his eyes burned red from distress, "Amy… help me."

In the moment, tears fell from her eyes as she choked from his words. In the moment she placed her hands to the sides of his face and pulled his lips down on hers.

She parted her mouth and he did the same. There was no hesitation as he locked himself to her, giving her a feeling of power and comfort. His hands slid to her back where he pulled her close to him, she ran her fingers through his quills. They had lost so much life and bounce recently, but they were still his, they were still perfect.

She felt him slide his tongue along her lower lip and she opened her mouth more to let him pass. It was an exciting moment, yet she didn't feel the butterflies she had imagined too. She didn't feel true loves kiss, all she felt was his pain. She wanted to take it away from him in that kiss, her first kiss with her true love. The man she nearly betrayed.

She felt him pull away from her, but rested his forehead upon hers. She smelled the light stench of alcohol that was on his breath and for a moment wondered if he had all his senses.

"Thank you" he whispered to her, keeping his eyes closed when fresh tears fell from his face.

She placed her hands back to his mussel, he looked at her with confusion. He questioned nothing but went with it when she pulled him back into her embrace and kissed him once again.

"Sonic?" a voice called out as the door was thrown open.

The blue hedgehog snapped away from the pink girl and spun to face the intruder. He gasped when he saw the brown chipmunk stood in the doorway, her hand covering her mouth and tears forming in her eyes. She turned and ran away from the room, leaving the two behind.

Sonic looked to Amy and then it seemed to suddenly dawn on him what had actually happened between the two of them, and what Sally had seen.

With no regard for the girl, he pulled away from her hold and rushed to the door, "Sally wait!" he cried out before leaving Amy all alone in that room, "Sonic!" she cried out, but he had left her.

He left her… after he used her.

She tucked her legs up to her chest and cradled herself slowly, left with her own feelings of betrayal and grief.

* * *

The chipmunk stormed out from the house and marched down the neighbourhood, determined to get away as quick as she possibly could. But Sonic was the fastest thing alive; she knew he'd catch up.

"Sally wait, please just hear me out" she felt his hand grab onto her wrist, so she spun around and pushed him away from her.

"NO!" she shrieked, now starting to cry, "You lied to me! You made me believe you loved me. I trusted you Sonic, I knew what you were like and you made me trust you!"

"I do! I love you Sal, but it's not what you think, please I can explain"

"Explain? Explain why you had your tongue down Amy's throat! Who by the way is only twelve you sick freak!" she tried to turn away but Sonic stood in front of her and held onto her shoulder.

"It was one time; it was a moment of weakness I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. But I've been trying to talk to you for the past few weeks and you've been ignoring me, I didn't know what else to do."

"Simple, don't go making out with other girls!" She tried to walk away again but he held her back.

"Sal please I'm sorry, I'll do anything just let me-"

"NO! IT'S OVER!"

A silence loomed over them both and her words felt sharper on his skin then a knife.

She held her hands on her temple and shook her head.

"Sal…" He didn't know what else to say.

"It's over" she said again, pushing past him, and this time he let her go.

He didn't watch her because he didn't want to. He didn't know what to do…

He didn't know what to do.

* * *

**Whooo Finally a SonAmy moment! Some questions have been answered.**

**Okay so let me know what you guys think, do you recon Amy believes Sonic, will she still want revenge or tell Rouge where to go and stick by his side. **

**Please let me know :)**

**Till next time**


	20. Maria Kintober

**Another day another chapter... well not quite, that would be awesome but sadly I have a life outside the internet as well. **

A must say I was blown away, so many reviews for my last chapter, thank you guys so much :)

There's another key point in the story to come up however I gotta write these fill chapters to lead up to those moments. I'm hoping you guys enjoy this chapter, it seems as if there's more going on then there seemed dun. dun. duuuuun.

* * *

She wasn't the typical looking counsellor he had expected to see. This Maria Kintober, supposedly a genius in adolescent phycology, looked more like a kid who just left School herself. She was really young, a human like Eggman with long blonde hair and a simple blue dress. She sat opposite him, surprisingly without a notepad, which he was un-admittedly grateful for. The thought of being studied put him off anyone.

She just sat with a kindly smile and a cup of coffee in her hands. She had given him one, without actually offering first, and waited silently as he got comfortable. She still never spoke, not introducing herself, just stared at Sonic expectedly.

"Umm…" Sonic tried to think of something to say. He had expected himself to be the silent one in the small office like room, but he wasn't. This unsettled him so much he felt he had to talk.

The room itself was patronising. The typical office with a toy box and stuffed bears in one side, clearly, or rather hopefully, to use with younger children. There was the standard coffee machine and a sofa in the middle for anyone to use. He was happy sitting there while she sat on the wrong side of her desk just staring at him, waiting for something to happen.

"Soo… I'm Sonic" he said awkwardly, raising a brow as if he wasn't sure he said the right thing.

Maria still smiled at him, but something in her eyes changed as a sudden smug vibe came from her, "I'm Maria. Nice to meet you Sonic, though I'm sorry you ended up here" she said casually.

Sonic chucked up a small laugh, "Yeah well, what can you say? School's a bitch."

"Tell me about it. I don't know what's worse the Teachers or the kids" she laughed along. And before Sonic knew it he was warming up to her, "I don't know, I think the Teachers really" he answered honestly.

Maria leaned a chin on her palm, "Oh yeah? It was always the kid's for me at my School. What are your Teachers like?"

"Where do I start?" Sonic laughed, but then he paused… suddenly she didn't look so friendly and down to earth as he first thought.

Without realising it he had the urge to tell her about Robotnik and Mrs. Winters. He wanted to tell her how they were blackmailing him and how he felt trapped. He could have easily told her anything. She had gotten into his head already?

She waited patiently for an answer.

"The Teachers are okay really, but they don't… I dunno, take notice?" he suddenly said. Maria looked almost thrown off her game as she straightened herself up, "Really? How so?"

"Well, the other week I walked into the classroom and I had a bruise on my eye and none of them seemed to really care" he shrugged.

Maria raised her brow and nodded her head. "Right, okay. How did you get the bruise?"

Sonic suddenly looked away from her, appearing very uneasy about the subject as he crossed his arms and rubbed his shoulders. "My dad told me not to talk about it" was all he said, now looking sad about the topic.

Maria nodded her head again, "I see. Did it happen at home or at School?"

Sonic was silent, breathing deeply like the conversation was hard for him to handle, "Home" he breathed out uneasily.

He watched as she picked up a notepad (so she did have one) and started to take note. "Sonic tell me. What are things like at home? Do you all get one pretty well?"

He had to resist the smallest of smiles. Now she was finally talking like a typical counsellor, just as he had expected her too once given a serious situation for her to handle. She seriously thought she could get the better of him by trying to be cool or something? Look how long that lasted.

"We get on, mostly. I guess my dad likes to drink a bit and he gets annoyed when we don't get things done straight away. He gets angry a lot."

Maria was writing in her pad once again, "Does he ever get violent?" she asked sympathetically.

Again Sonic played the part, "Yeah" he started to choke up.

"Does he ever hit you?"

Tears came to his eyes while he covered his muzzle in his hands, "yes" he whimpered, shoulders trembling.

Maria finally put down her notepad onto her lap; she reached forward and took both his hands in hers. "Sonic look at me" she urged, he opened his bloodshot eyes and stared at the blue orbs that reviled empathy towards him.

"Sonic, I want to help you. In order to do so however… you got to stop feeding me crap."

He froze. His lips pushed together in a thin line and his eyes wide and startled, his hands no longer trembling in her hold, "W-wha?"

She let go of his hands, "I wasn't taking notes by the way, I was drawing a rabbit" she picked up the pad and showed him. It wasn't even a good picture.

"What?!" Sonic spat out, no longer teary and no longer sad.

"Your dad died before you ever met him, you live with your Uncle after being left in an orphanage. You've self-harmed to an extreme rate lately and attempted a suicide at School. This is why you've been referred to me to get to the bottom of your problems. I can help you and give you any support you need but in return I would like the truth from you please."

Angrily Sonic stood up, kicking the chair down as he did so. "I already told you the truth!" he shouted, "I don't live with my Uncle, I live with my parents! I want help to get away from my dad and you're telling me it's a load of crap? What kind of help to you think you are to anyone. You probably need counselling just to get it through your thick head that you're useless at your job and everything else!"

He didn't storm away, just stood to watch her and waited for the reaction he had expected. She did nothing. She looked at him dismissively and went back to her notepad, he couldn't even see if she was writing or doodling this time.

"If that was the case then why is there an older hedgehog waiting outside my door saying he's your Uncle and he's ready to take you home when we're done? Do I need to call security?" she asked, almost sounding amused.

"I don't know him!" he suddenly spat, crossing his arms.

"Really? Fair enough I'll let security know. They'll take him down to the police station for questioning, they may ask you a few questions so best prepare yourself" she reached over to her phone and started to dial.

"Wait! He's my personal chauffer. My dad owns a few Tech companies."

She raised her brow questioningly, "You said two seconds ago you didn't know him."

"No I didn't" he defended, getting snappy.

"Yes you did-"

"Prove it!"

Maria threw her pad and pen down onto the desk next to her and took a deep breath, clearly getting irritated. She shook her head, lost in her own thoughts. Liars were the worst clients.

"Sit down please" she motioned to the tipped over chair.

"No I don't want to" he snapped, leaning against the door frame instead. She observed him carefully, weighing him up in her eyes.

"Do you want a drink?" she randomly asked, her answer "No."

"You want anything to eat?"

"I'm not hungry."

She had heard his stomach growl not too long ago. "Sonic what do you do for fun? Do you enjoy running?"

"It's boring I hate it" he answered bluntly.

She had all the answers she needed now. "Sonic, when you lie to people how does it make you feel?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer he would give to her.

"I don't lie to people."

"You do though don't you? It gives you a sense of control" she watched as his eyes darted awkwardly to the left before staring right back at her. She found her starting point with him.

"Sonic I can help you with this. I believe that you're suffering from pathological lying. If you leave this untreated it will only back fire, if not now then much later in life. Believe me it is better to have friends that can trust you and you trust them instead of being thrown to the backstabbers who will take you apart. In just a couple of sessions with me and we will know what's at the bottom of these urges and which best way is to deal with them."

He didn't know what to say anymore. It was like being hit in the face with a hammer, he was bewildered by her and the fact there was actually such a disorder. But there was nothing wrong with him! He didn't try to kill himself and he didn't self-harm… well only once but never again!

It was all just one mistake.

"So what do you say Sonic? Can I help you?" she held out her hand towards him, a large caring smile upon her features. He hated to admit it but her smile seemed to make him feel safe, like she really was wanting to help him.

He held his breath, but walked forward and took her hand in his "Okay" he smiled back, trying to copy that smile and imitate the feeling it gave him.

But she knew he was once again lying.

* * *

The white bat looked at her phone once again only to see there was still no message alert like she had hoped for. Stomping her foot to the ground she growled, "Come on Amy!"

Though it hardly mattered, she was standing at the young hedgehog's front door waiting for a response. She had rung the bell only for the girl's mother to come to the door and kindly explain she was at a friend's house. Rouge saw through the cover up instantly; Amy didn't have any other friends.

She sat down on the steps of the porch, waiting yet again after sending her another text message, but when she was yet again ignored Rouge took matters into her own hands.

Standing up and spreading her wings, she flew up into the air and circled along the house, hoping to reach the girls window from the back view of the house.

She landed on the window still and peeped inside, sadly though the room was actually empty.

With another groan she pushed herself back into the air and looked away with crossed arms. Ironically in doing so she saw a shade of pink sitting in the very middle of the reasonably sized garden. Her lips turned upwards and she swarmed down.

"Hey pinkie, lost your phone?"

With a startled yelp Amy darted around with a shriek, but blew a breath of relief, "Oh Rouge it's you."

"The one and only" the older teenager chimed with a wink, "But enough stating the obvious, why haven't you returned my texts? Last night was such a success! I was worried Sally was going to walk in before you two started kissing, but I figured I gave you enough time" she giggled, but paused with confusion when Amy's shoulders rose tensely.

"Well congratulations, the plan worked great! I got him to kiss me just in time without even thinking about it and now I wish I hadn't" she snapped, turning her back to Rouge and going back to her garden.

Rouge frowned at the outburst, not taking kindly to her attitude, "Oh great back to this huh? What did he say this time? Where you the only one he could trust in this horrible world or something?" she spat sarcastically, placing her hands on her hips and looking down at the pink hedgehog.

Amy didn't feel intimidated, "For your information he told me something very personal okay. He was really upset, he even cried in front of me!"

The bat girl scoffed, "Please he's crying for attention now? With me he wouldn't have dared. Don't you see it Amy, he plays people. He finds out what hits you the most and he uses it to get the attention he wants. With me he told me he was older then he was and that he was just held back a few years. Not only that but he knew the best places to find the most beautiful jewels could have ever seen, _and_ his only goal was to find a beautiful woman and shower her with gifts and diamonds then show her off to the world!" she said, getting lost in the words she was told a few years ago.

Amy shook her head, "You really fell for that?"

"It was what I wanted to hear. And no doubt he wanted you to feel like he actually needed you" Rouge finished, crossing her arms over her chest.

The pink hedgehog looked down, rubbing her arm as she felt a swarm racing through her stomach. "But he was so convincing" she tried to argue, but her mind was so confused so didn't believe it herself.

Sonic was a liar that much was obvious to everyone. She had never given it two thoughts until Rouge took her under her wing. Now she felt so conflicted. The reason she was doing this was to make Sonic pay for what he did to her, and not just the book incident but all of it. The years of ignoring her, pushing her away and showing her up in front of his friends. It had built up so much over the years she wanted him to pay! How could she have ever loved him?

But then the way he begged her for help, the way he cried in front of her and practically screamed for death, could she really hurt him after someone already else was? Could she stoop to his level?

Their kiss had felt so empty, she felt she took advantage and now Sonic had lost his girlfriend because of her. But if he had really wanted her he wouldn't have left her alone, he would have let Sally run away and turn his attention back to her, the one who was there for him all along.

Now though… What if Rouge was right? What if he knew that that was the way to get her attention? After all she did go to him for the intention of talking only, or so he thought. Was he really lying?

She remebered the alcohol she smelt on his breath.

… He was lying.

She sighed sadly, "Just as he always does" she whispered out loud.

She felt Rouge place her hand upon her shoulder and pull her in. "He needs to be stopped Amy, whether what we're doing is right or wrong we're stopping him from hurting girls like us in the future. We're not hurting him, we're just showing everyone who he really is" she said.

Amy stared at her, her lips trembled as she tried to speak, but there was nothing she could think of to say.

"Come on Amy. I'm making you popular, I've had so many girls _and _guys ask me for your number I can hardly keep up" she smiled, putting the pressure on.

"Really? Guys want my number?" she asked bashfully, playing with her hair. _None of them would be Sonic though._

"Of course, Amy once everyone sees you on Sonic's arm, sad to admit it but you'll be the hottest girl in the School. Then we break him down, and you'll be free to have anyone you want."

Rouge sold it so perfectly. It was almost a fairy tale. It was what she wanted all along. She had hoped Sonic would fall for her and introduce her to the life of popularity where everyone loved you and didn't laugh at the fact you had several Sonic pictures in your locker.

Was it wrong? Was it right?

She made up her mind.

* * *

Walking down the long corridor two hedgehogs became the centre of attention from everyone. Whispers were flying through the air as the majority of students gawped at the sight.

Amy looked down at the floor, not comfortable at the attention she was receiving. Sonic showed no emotion in his eyes.

They both stood side by side with their hands interlocked and walked as if it was any other day, ignoring all the stares, ignoring the comments and ignoring the confusion. No one had dared asked why he was holding the hand of his stalker.

Things only changed when Sonic's eyes caught sight of brown. He let go of Amy's hand and instantly placed his arm around her shoulders, planting a small kiss upon her cheek.

She was bewildered by his sudden affection, but when she saw Sally up ahead of them standing by her locker she understood why he made an effort.

When the brown chipmunk glared at the both of them with tears in her eyes before storming away from the scene, she understood why Sonic had answered her phone call. She understood the reason why all she had to do was just ask if they could become a couple and he instantly agreed without any hesitation. She understood why now.

Rouge watched it all. She saw the chipmunk and she saw Sonic's sudden interest in showing off his new girlfriend.

The bat girl leaned against her locker, a large seductive smile griming upon her muzzle as she bit down on her fingers.

"You seem amused"

Rouge jumped from her trance with a sharp breath, her hand flew to her heart. Turning her head, she relaxed and her smile returned, "My my Knuckles, you took my breath away" she chimed with a soft giggle.

The echidna stood by her with his arms crossed over his chest, his face was stern and clearly not in the mood for any flirting. "Well it's not exactly hard to do with you is it?" he snapped back. Rouge was hardly fazed, she simply chuckled to herself.

"What can I say? I know how to attract the right kind of man" she said before placing her soft gloved hand upon his chest, her finger tracing along the small white patch of fur he had. Knuckles growled at her before grabbing her hand and pushing it away. He never released his hold on her wrist.

"I'm not playing along with you Rouge. I know you're up to something. I've seen you hanging out with Amy, I saw the both of you at the mall a few weeks ago! And now she's with Sonic?" he hissed accusingly. Rouge narrowed her eyes at him, "So because I'm helping out my new friend I'm suddenly the reason Sonic is getting out of control? How does that make any sense you dumb echidna?" she tried to pull her arm away but he held his grip.

"It's more than him just getting out of control and you know it! Weird things are going on with him and now suddenly the whole School is saying he's cheated on Sally with Amy. And what reason do they have for doubting him now that _she's_ clinging on his arm?!"

"Get to the point!" Rouge spat angrily.

Knuckles bared his razor like teeth, "I know Sonic better than anyone in this whole School. I know things about him he would never have told anyone else, so trust me when I say this; I know that something is wrong when he actually agreed to date Amy. You're up to something Rouge. You're playing your old tricks again and I am not letting you get away with it."

Rouge pouted at the echidna mockingly, "Aww baby, does someone feel guilty for what he did last time? Or maybe he's just forgetting that all I have to do is tell Sonic what happened between you and me at the park and then his little buddy will-"

She never finished as in his anger Knuckles grabbed both her shoulders and shoved her against the lockers. People around them stared at the sudden noise, but because it was Rouge and Knuckles they said nothing.

"Me and you _never_ happened! Got it? What makes you think Sonic would ever trust you now anyway? Watch your back Bat Girl! I'm on to you" he scowled at her bitterly, and with one final push he let her go and walked away. Rouge felt herself topple before catching her balance. Looking around she saw no one had been paying any attention; they had been slightly hidden by the corner.

She cleared her throat and dusted off her clothes, suddenly not feeling all that comfortable anymore. Shaking her head she went back to her spying.

She hadn't realised Knuckles was doing the same thing from the other side of the room now.

The echidna watched as Sonic stood with Amy by the entrance of the Science lab. He raised his brow questioningly. Until the Science project Sonic had hated Science. He said it was the most boring lesson in his life, but now the fox kid had gotten him roped into a new project, why would he ever agree to that?

He knew Rouge was up to something with Amy, but what was Tails up to?

Rocking back on her feet, Amy swayed her and Sonic's hands side to side. "So are we going to go on a date today? There are some really good movies at the cinema. We can get popcorn, though if you don't like popcorn we can get something else" she rambled on.

Sonic huffed to himself lightly, "You know Amy I'm not really feeling much like going out today" was all he said. To her he looked completely bored and impatient to get away.

She shook her head slowly and took a deep breath. She wanted to walk away from him, she wanted to shout at him and call him a jerk but… they had a plan. She needed to stick to the plan.

"You know, if you want I could just come round to your house later. We can hang out, maybe just talk about things."

For the first time since she saw him at the party, his eyes lit up and looked at her gratefully. A small smile tugged at his lips, "Really? Yeah… that would be great."

Everything about him suddenly picked up and he acted like a different person suddenly. He actually seemed happy, "I'll see you later okay" he smiled before cupping Amy's round blushing cheeks in his hands and leaning forward to plant a small kiss on her forehead.

She watched almost dazed as he turned his back to her, walking into the Science lab and giving a final wave before closing the door behind.

* * *

The young two tailed fox was hard at work. He wore goggles over his eyes and large brown workman's gloves. He was accompanied by only a screwdriver and his thoughts, just as he had been so for a while. When hearing the sound of a door being closed, he looked up from his metallic mess on the lab bench and saw the blue hedgehog walking towards him.

"Sonic!" he beamed with a large smile. The hedgehog did the same in return before walking to his side.

"Sup bud, I'm finally here. So what we working on?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. Tails wasted no time as he pulled out his blue prints, notepads and laptop.

"Right well it's probably best I fill you in on the details first. This project is for the Science Exposition that's taking place in Central City. It's one of the biggest Science conventions in the world! Schools have to compete with each other just to get a place and only the best of the best get a spot to show case their scientific discoveries. The teachers asked me to work on the project and represent our School" he explained.

Sonic leaned against the bench, rolling his eyes but letting the kid carry on with his presentation. "Now to really get noticed in a place like that you got to invent something amazing! Something no one has seen before. This right in front of me" he patted that pile of naked engineering that lay in front of him, "This is an engine I'm working on. Now I know what you're thinking, engines aren't exactly original…"

"Actually I was thinking how long is it till lunch break?"

"But this one will be different. See truthful you are my biggest inspiration for the project. I want to create an engine that will be able to withstand the highest of speeds! I want to make an engine that can perform a Sonic boom and power it in my plane!" the fox cried out excitedly.

Sonic however held his hands into the air, "Whoa whoa whoa, hold up kiddo. I got two issues there! First of all hate to break it to you but they've already made engines that can do Sonic booms, I know, I've seen them. And secondly what exactly were your intentions on me helping out? Was this some way for you to use me as a lab rat?"

"No of course not, you told me before you didn't want people doing loads of tests on you and things like that. All I wanted was for you to… display your speed."

Sonic raised his brow and crossed his arms.

"Well I figured if you could test the engine on simpler machines I could monitor how the engine reacts when you accelerate without having to set it in motion yet. If it can handle all the power that my devices store up and basically doesn't explode on us then I'll know that the engine can handle the same amount of power" the child explained. Sonic's shoulders dropped a little, nodding his head at the information that was given to him, "Okay, that doesn't sound too bad I guess. But that still doesn't change the fact that there are already engines out there that can do a Sonic boom" he argued.

Tails dismissed the objection, "This one is different. This one will only be three inches big" he beamed while holding his fingers three inches apart for visual.

Sonic's smile slowly widened as he got the idea, "So that you can install the engine into machine you want" he explained to himself slowly, "Dude you are a genius! This will blow everyone away!" he held his hand opened into the air. Tails gladly took the high five.

"So what we working on at the minute?"

"Well I still need to make the engine capable of withstanding a Sonic boom, this is almost complete. Afterwards it's just figuring out how to compress it and testing if it works. I want to make the world's first microchip engine" Tails stared at his current work, his mind already running through a check list of everything he had to do and trying to figure out how it could be done.

With a friendly smile, Sonic placed a hand upon the kid's shoulder, "Well buddy if anyone can do it it's-"

"There you are!"

Sonic tore his hand away and spun around to the new voice in the room. His eyes dropped sadly when he saw the woman that sent chills down his spine.

The tabby cat steps forward to the two boys. A very kind look in her eyes lay upon them both, and whereas Sonic was avoiding her gaze, Tails beamed happily and waved at her.

"Hi Mrs. Winters, look at what I'm working on for the Science Expo" the young fox said excitedly while picking up his notepads and blue prints.

"I'd love to Tails, but unfortunately you'll have to show me next time. Sonic you were supposed to be in detention an hour ago" she turned her attention back to the blue hedgehog.

Sonic didn't reply to her, he just crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders.

Tails raised his brow curiously, since when was Sonic shy around the teacher?

"Well unfortunately to make up for this you'll have to miss your lunch, now if you'll excuse us Tails dear" she put lightly, taking a hold of Sonic's forearm and urged him away.

"No!" he snapped loudly, pulling from her grip and almost backing into the fox who dodge out the way. He watched the two back and forth, not really understanding what was going on.

Sonic stared at her like he was afraid?

She smiled at Tails like nothing was the matter but practically glared at Sonic.

"Stop being difficult Sonic, come with me" she reached out again and grabbed him by his wrist.

"AGH! Stop it!" he yelped out, snatching his wrist away and holding it against his chest, hissing as his face grimaced from the action.

Her lips fell open in a slight gap, while her eyes deepened into his, finally understanding the situation. "I see" was all she said, clasping her hands together in front of her and holding her head high.

Sonic frowned and his brow furrowed upwards sadly.

Tails was oblivious as to what was going on. He kept trying to reason to himself what was happening but he didn't understand their reactions to one another. They might have actually forgotten he was there because Mrs. Winters placed her arm around Sonic's shoulders and led him away without so much as a single goodbye. Before he knew it they were both gone out of the room and he was left alone with only his machines to work on.

He had noticed however that the grip Mrs. Winters had on Sonic's arm looked really tight, but Sonic's didn't seem to care.

Did he?

* * *

**My my, what does Mrs. Winter plan to do to him this time, especially as she now knows about his self harming?**

**Also just a remeinder I am obviously not a profesional counseller, but I have however been to a few in the past. I've had different experiences and the way I presented Maria (ironiclly my name also lolz ^3^) is similer to what I've experienced. They're easier to talk to when they don't try to make it feel like you're being counselled, but you're just talking to a friend.**

**Anyway I hope you enjoyed and until next time :P**


	21. Mystic Ruins

** Well peeps this chapter comes with a warning.**

**WARNING!**

**WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING!**

**This may have a trigger for some people. I know self harming is a sensitive topic and I'm trying to be as respectful as I can be. Normally I don't give warnings, and I really should tbh, but this time I feel this needs to be highlighted. If you are sentitive to the topic of self harm please skip the first half of this chapter! I know it might upset people so please don't read through it if it makes you feel uneasy.**

**I think this is the only time I write a chapter this intense and I know to some people it won't seem like a big deal, but I feel better knowing people weren't personally hurt by it. It happens, just saying.**

**Okay you have all been warned. **

**Anyway thank you for the reviews, it's good to know people are still following this story and haven't got bored :)**

* * *

At this point he started to know the drill. The opera music played, blinds closed, door locked and he was tied up. It did not make it any easier though. His chest heaved loudly and beads of sweat ran down his forehead.

By now he was becoming used to so much pain, but she hadn't even started her sadistic torture yet.

It was different this time and Sonic knew she had just come up with the idea minutes ago when she saw how much it hurt to grab his arm.

Instead of being pushed into the centre of the classroom she had forced him to sit at her desk, in her chair.

She was forceful, pushing him around and keeping an iron grip on his already bruised arms. This time she hadn't needed to be. He didn't fight her this time, and he was sure she knew why.

She bit off the end of the duct tape, baring sharp threatening fangs. Standing back she looked like she was admiring her work. A slick smile forming along her muzzle, she was wearing a lot more makeup then she normally did. Even her skirt was getting shorter every time she did this to him.

Sonic's eyes stared up to her hopelessly. She had taped him to her chair, around his shoulders and chest, then some more around his waist. She only restrained one of his arms, his less painful one.

He wasn't sure what she was planning, but she didn't give him much time to work it out when she reached out and took the wrist of his free arm. She held it out with his palm faced upward, and rolled up his sleeve in order to expose if her suspicions had been correct.

Long, thin and irritated scars gleaned across his arm in several directions, over lapping the bruises that were already there. There didn't seem to be many, just five or six, and they looked a few days old.

Sonic's hand shook frantically. He could feel his stomach already churning when she reached out the tip of her nails to trace along the crimson lines, sending stinging chills up his arm.

"So it's come to this has it?" her voice sharper then the glass he used. The sound of her voice brought him down to a level below anything he had ever felt. He just wanted to curl up and never be found.

With a shaky breath, he didn't reply. His heart ran at dangerous rates again.

"How does it feel?" she didn't smile, nor did she look sympathetic. She showed nothing of emotion and it scared him more.

He swallowed hard; it felt like sand paper in his throat. "It hurts" he whispered, not knowing how else to answer.

"Did it help?"

He lowly lowered his head, not able to look at her anymore. All he could do was shake his head, he was hit by nausea to an extensive rate that he started to feel the bile lurch in his airways.

Finished with her torment she slammed the down side of his arm back onto the desk. He yelped loudly at the sudden shock and the burn that ran through his nerves.

He struggled but contained himself as she used the duct tape to bind his hand to the solid wood.

Sonic moved his arm but it was stuck in place, only allowing him centre meters of movement. His scars were perfectly exposed and he couldn't change that.

He gasped a small whimper and started to choke up on the prospect of what she might do.

He closed his eyes tight when she walked around him. He tasted the decaying material of the old duster as she forced it around his mouth, stopping him from making too much noise for the outside world to hear, but enough to tingle at her ears.

Opening his eyes, he saw she was standing by his side with a ruler clutched in one hand and her claw like nails tracing along its edges.

His heart beat grew faster as her words melted on his ears like acid. "Time for a little exam. You're working very hard with Tails I see, no doubt trying to get extra credits to help you pass this year. Here's the deal, I'll give you all the credits you need if you answer these questions."

His eyes were wide and gleaning from fear. Yet he nodded his head, because what else could he do?

"First question; what is a hypothetical string theory weightless particle?"

Sonic froze and started to panic. More sweat fell as he mumbled senselessly. He attempted to work it out but he had no idea what some of the words even meant. How could he possibly know the answer?

"Oops, times up"

He screamed out in a blistering agony as the sharp metal ruler was thrusted down and smacked along his injured arm. Instantaneous tears streamed from the corners of his eyes and absorbed in the rag as his whole arm flared up into a piercing blood like redness. In his pain his throat ripping cries and gasps were only silenced by that cloth. He wailed helplessly and his shoulders shuddered in defeat.

"Next question!" she shouted over the top of his pleas, "Solve CO2+ +N2O3=C7O11N2H12 then say the name of chemical."

He shook his head pitifully and through the sound of his muffled breaking voice she heard him admit that he didn't know.

Scrunching his eyes he looked away and braced himself. Another crack and he jolted with an agonizing shriek, his arm feeling like she had just set it on fire and tried to saw it off.

He couldn't take much more. When he looked he saw small drops of blood splattered across her desk. She was going to rip him apart.

But what could he do?

* * *

Sonic didn't want to go home yet. He couldn't find the will power to face anybody or be confronted with stupid questions like 'How was your day?' 'Did you take your meds?'

He didn't leave the School, but went around the back of the dominant building to hide from the crowds of teens that flooded past the open gates.

There was a small area at the back where not that many people went, right next to an air vent and a small gap behind where the buildings didn't quite meet.

Sonic went into there. He crossed his arms and held himself tightly, leaning his head sideways against the wall.

He stared miserably at the ground below his feet. His brow raised high and narrowed while his bottom lip trembled with every hitch of his breath. Yet for once he didn't cry. The tears stung at the brim of his eyes but they never fell. He sniffed and moaned a couple of times, but mostly he felt as if he let himself down. He failed.

He didn't cry this time. He had expected this.

The moment he stumbled out of Mrs. Winter's classroom he raced down to the toilets and vomited, just making it in time. He had felt his heart pounding through his mind like before and panic set in as he thought he'd pass out again. He couldn't go back to Dr. Quack now. The doctor had told him not to run and if he knew what Sonic was doing he'd never let him back outside. He'd practically be in a Hospitalised prison.

The hedgehog rubbed at his eyes tiredly. He was so fed up and frustrated with everything. He still didn't know what to do.

He looked bitterly down at his wrist. He had used toilet paper to create a make-shift bandage after running under cold water for some time. Needless to say it wasn't effective. He felt like he had been such an idiot for what he did. He knew people had said it helped when they lost control on their lives. It was something he had heard about so much in the School that he thought it was his only answer.

But it made him worse. Now she had something else they could use against him. If he ever went to the police for help, he had been diagnosed with pathological lying syndrome and is known for self-harming, who was ever going to believe him?

His faced grimaced painfully when a new wave of nausea filled his stomach as the truth finally sunk in. He really had no way out of this. The only thing he could do was get that file! And if he couldn't prove what they did to him, at least they couldn't prove what he did either.

"Sonic?"

Spinning around in a heartbeat, his sad eyes rested upon the smaller figure that stood not so far away. Adjusting himself and appearing more relaxed, Sonic subconsciously hid his arm behind his back, despite the fact it was already covered under his sleeve.

He gave a fake smile, "Hey bud, I didn't hear you."

It was soon faltering though as the young foxes eyes traced him up and down, going from curious to worried.

"Are you okay Sonic? You look really ill?"

The teenager just laughed it off, "What are you talking about, I'm fine" he tried to convince. But even though he played the part well, his looks gave the game away. Tails kept shaking his head.

"No you look really bad. You should see a Doctor, you're really pale!" Tails took a hold of hand, instantly Sonic tensed, and he started to pull him out from the darkened gap he had hidden himself away in.

But as he was being pulled out, Sonic placed his heels down and pulled Tails back to a stop.

He turned the kid around and crouched down so they were at the same height. "Tails listen to me! I'm fine" he spat angrily.

Taking a moment to calm himself down, he saw that Tails was looking at him differently; this time he looked like he was afraid of him.

He noticed the grip he had on Tails arms, he then understood why.

Letting go he sighed and stood back up, mumbling an apology. Tails rubbed at his arms where his hands had been. He took a moment to think of what he should say next, unsure if he would say the right thing now.

Thankfully Sonic spoke instead. "How far did you get with the engine?" the teenager asked, forcing his hands into his pockets and leaning against the wall. For once he seemed genuinely interested.

Tails instantly picked up, "I got most of it done. The only thing problem is I need to test it but the Teachers who are helping me said I can't build by testing mechanisms in the School because there's not enough room. I don't have the space in my house either" he explained sadly.

Sonic pouted his lips, now suddenly wondering if he had any helpful suggestions. "What about that little shed in your garden? Is that too small?"

"That? Sonic's that's my tool shed. I can barely fit in there" there fox replied with a raised brow.

Sonic only grinned, "I dunno I thought maybe it was bigger on the inside." Tails started to chuckle.

A small smile tugged at Sonic's lips while his eyes drifted slowly to the side in thought. Tails watched in wonder until finally the hedgehog made up his mind. "I think I know a place" he grinned.

"Really?" Tails beamed excitedly.

Walking closer to the young fox he started to explain, "Yeah there's a place in the Mystic Ruins that I know about. It would be perfect."

But Tails didn't seem so sure, "Mystic Ruin? But that's nearly three hours to get to" he argued. Sonic shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah but if you take the train it's an hour and a half."

"I guess so" he said unsurely.

"Well we could go take a look now if you want" the hedgehog urged, playfully kicking Tails' foot with his own. "Now? Yeah okay. We got time."

"Cool. Hop on."

Tails looked completely bewildered as Sonic kneeled down in front of him, his back turned and ready to climb up on. The young foxes smile grew to an extensive rate while his balled up fists shook with pure excitement.

"You mean it? We're going to go Sonic speed? Like the speed you normally go at?" in the hyperactive rant that Tails was currently going on, Sonic sighed loudly and exaggeratedly, "You gonna hop on or are you walking instead?" he snapped impatiently.

Timidly the fox shrunk down, "sorry" he mumbled. He soon picked up though, and with a small leap he wrapped his arms around the older teen's neck and fitted himself comfortably between the two large mass of quills on Sonic's back.

Now he was secure, Sonic placed his arms behind the eight year old for added support. He stood up, and just as quickly as he had done so, they were off.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

There were far away from the School now. Tails could hardly see anything around him; one because Sonic's quills were swaying in his face and he was trying to avoid having an eye taken out; but two because they were going so fast the whole world around him looked warped and out of focus. All he could make out was that buildings had passed by for a second flat then they were in what looked like a mountain area.

He was grateful that Sonic had locked his arms around his body; the grip he had on the older teen alone wouldn't have been strong enough to keep him in place.

"SONIC… WHERE ARE WE?" he shouted out. His ears were almost popping and the loud noise of whirling speed deafened him almost. Looking to the ground he could actually see the turbulence Sonic was creating, and all from just his feet.

"WE'RE ALMOST THERE, WE LEFT CENTRAL CITY TWO SECONDS AGO" he heard Sonic shout back over the high pressured noise.

"CENTRAL CITY? THAT'S TWO HOURS TO GET TO!"

The hedgehog turned his head slightly and Tails saw the grin upon his face, "NOT IF YOU'RE ME."

Tails lifted his head as much as he could. They were surrounded by trees now, he hadn't even noticed. He closed his eyes and relaxed as the wind blew into his face, running through his bangs and tickling his ears. The biggest of smiles broke out upon his muzzle as he started to imagine that it was him running. That he was the one jumping side to side, zipping past the city and through the trees. Feeling the rush of power, and the thrill of momentum when he accelerated, faster and faster. It was nothing he ever experienced before, and it was nothing he could describe. It was simply something you had to experience for yourself.

It happened so fast that when Tails finally opened his eyes, he only then noticed Sonic had come to a stop. "Sonic?" the fox questioned.

"We're here."

Looking up, Tails' jaw hung loosely while his eyes opened wide. The beautiful sight in front of them was a large clearing at the side of the mountains. A waterfall ran from its opened edges and into a large pond which ran deeper into a stream to the sea. The train station ran through caves in the mountain, it's boarding platform resembling a treehouse with only a ladder to reach it.

His biggest marvel though was at the top of a large cliff that loomed over the side of the never ending ocean, a small wooden house was nestled neatly at the top, looking like a home of someone wanting to get away from the modern world and connect with nature. It was embedded with flowers on the ground, vines growing up along it's sides and a well at the very back making it seem too peaceful.

Tails looked at Sonic, he saw the hedgehog was smirking at him.

"Is that it?" he asked, pointing to the small house.

"Yep, this is my home away from home" Sonic smiled peacefully.

Tails was about to ask another question, but was jolted back instead as Sonic zipped them both up the flight of carved out steps.

No sooner then he realised they were standing at the door of the small house. The older teen released his grip on Tails and let the kid fall down to his feet.

The fox however took a hold of Sonic's arm, suddenly feeling dizzy now he was back on his feet. "Whoa, that was crazy! How do you cope with running like that?"

Sonic thought for a moment, but simply shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know really. It's just been one of those things for me. Like how do you cope being so smart? Does your brain not just melt when you do these Science project thingys?"

Tails looked to the ground in through and placed his hands to his hips, "Hmm good point I suppose. Does it ever hurt to run like that?"

_Recently? All the time! _"Nah I barely feel a thing."

"But how to you not just burn up with all the friction of running? I mean from a Science point of few you should be breaking every bone in your body. You're ears, nose and eyes should be bleeding from the pressure and-"

"Ew okay stop! Please, you sound like you're giving Mrs. Winters ideas" after he said it he realised he couldn't take it back. Foolishly Sonic slapped his hand over his mouth and stared at Tails anxiously.

The fox was looking at him with a raised brow and a questioning frown, "What?" he breathed out, completely confused.

Sonic shot him a smile and started to laugh, "I-It's an inside joke, I saw it to my friends all the time. Forgot you weren't part of the original loop. Anyway moving on, this is the place, what do you think?"

Tails hardly registered the question, he was beaming to himself childishly and a small flush ran to his face. He wasn't just Sonic's friend; he was part of his loop friends!

Then the question hit him and he shook his head awkwardly, "Oh yeah. This place is beautiful. How did you find it?" he asked, walking to the door and running his hand along the oaked frame.

Sonic paced towards him slowly, throwing his hands into his pockets, "I kinda just came across it during one of my runs. Sometimes it gets a little stressful in the city so I just come here when I want to get away. No one's shown up to stop me from coming, the door didn't have a lock and the only time it's ever changed is when I've fixed it up a bit."

Tails stood back patiently as Sonic pushed at the door. The only thing keeping it closed was a golden around the door knob that was looped over it and a nail that stuck out of the oak frame. Sonic touched the ring and with a small chimed noise it vanished.

"Whoa! How did you do that?" Tails gasped, fixated on where the ring once was. "Meh, it's just a power ring my Uncle invented. He's made millions of them" he explained like it was no big deal.

Tails still had a lot of questions to ask, but Sonic turned his back to him. Finally he opened the door and walked inside.

It was not as nice looking as the outside.

It was all dark, despite the windows, and dust was flying about everywhere.

But Tails could see where Sonic had made his own personal touches here and there. The walls inside were half painted in red, as in only half way through painting before Sonic probably got bored and gave up. The paint pots were still in the corner of the main room. He did however find the energy to write in big letters SONIC IS AWESOME across the wall, though it was kind of amusing.

Fairy lights had been placed around here and there, a small lava lamp on the floor and about three bean bags. In the corner of the room was some broken glass which looked like it came from pieces of the cracked mirror above. There was red paint splattered across the shards, so Tails assumed.

A bad stench reached Tails' nostrils and he squirmed a little at the opened pizza boxes and empty cans of soda left around the place. "Don't you clean this place?" he mumbled while pitching his small nose in disgust.

Sonic pouted his lips and cocked his head slightly, "Well mostly. Not many people know about this place so they don't send a garbage guy around. It means lugging it back and I can't be bothered with that. Sides it's not me who leaves it like this anyway" he replied before flipping a switch that turned all the lights on in the house, giving them a better view of each other.

"It's not you?" Tails repeated, still pitching his nose from the smell. Taking the big obvious hint, Sonic groaned before grabbing a bag from under the table he built himself out of wood and bricks. He went to work at quickly cleaning up the mess.

"Okay we need to make a deal here. This place is big enough for you to work on your Science stuff. It's a bit of a journey if you want to be by yourself but if we come together it will be a flash" he started while picking up the junk. Tails decided to help out as he listened to the terms.

"First thing to remember is that this is _my _little get away, no one else's okay. So I don't want you telling people or writing it up on a Sonic stalking blog that this place exists okay? The only ones who know is me and you and we keep it so! Okay?" The garbage bags were thrown out the door to be nature's problems, and Sonic stared back at Tails with total seriousness about his terms.

Tails felt a bit of pressure now. He hadn't realised how big a deal this place was before. Still it was unlikely he'd tell anyone, and he liked the idea of him and Sonic sharing their own little secret place together. "Okay" he replied, grinning ear to ear.

Sonic however wasn't done, "One more thing! You only do your experiments in one room. Don't worry it's big, probably big enough to fit the plane you're building. You keep all Science stuff to one room got it?" the hedgehog finally held out his hand, showing that was the final offer.

Tails didn't hesitate; he took Sonic's hand and sealed it.

"Okay awesome. You got yourself a lab bud."

Tails cheered loudly as he jumped up into the air, "YES! I've always wanted a real lab!" he cried out. Sonic, ditching his serious mood, chuckled to himself lightly, "I'll show you how to get to it real soon, it's actually built under the house so it's inside the cliff. First off though, there's one more thing I want to show you."

Tails watched curiously as Sonic walked to the front door and stepped outside. Looking back at the curious young fox kid, he motioned for him to follow.

Tails never hesitated for a second.

* * *

**Ohhhhh where is Sonic taking Tails? Somewhere good? Or maybe it's a big prank he and Knuckles set up in their spare time!**

**You shall never know Muahahah... Until the next chapter.**

**Anyway please leave a review and don't kill me for the first half of this chapter.**


	22. The Chao Garden

**Okay not much really happens in this chapter, mostly Sonic and Tails fluff, but it gets the story moving. I'm hoping to get into the good stuff soon.**

**Anyway thank you for all the lovely reviews, from my loyal reviewers and especially Nah Nahila. Normally I don't highlight reviewers but she offered to beat people up for me :B**

**But yes, thank you guys for the kind words and for not ripping me apart for my last chapter, you have all been awesome and I hope you all continue to review, that would be awesome. **

**On with the chapter and I hope you enjoy!**

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Tails hadn't known what to expect, but now he was too giddy for words. The young fox laughed playfully as a light spray of water splashed on to him from the shallow pool that he ran along side of. The happy chirping of the little creatures that flew behind him and ran by his feet, and splashed him in the water, played like a soft tune on his ears.

The adorable little creatures known as the Chaos had him almost circled before playfully pouncing on the young fox and smothering him hugs. The small bobbles on the top of their heads inflated into a love heart as Tails wrapped his arms around the tiny creatures and pulled them close. Each one started to cry for his attention.

Nearby of the green garden, away from the very small rock pool, Sonic sat with his legs crossed and watched the eight year old play. He had a Chao in his arms which he cradled on his shoulder and two more Chao lazing around on his lap. All three of them were fast asleep and using him as a soft pillow to lie on.

Aside from the ones chasing Tails, the other Chao's in the garden were going about their everyday routine; playing, singing, flying, eating fruit when it fell from the trees, whatever kept them busy.

"Sonic look!" Tails called out. Sonic took notice as the young fox spun his twin tails and hovered slowly into the air. With that the group of Chao looked at each other with question marks about their heads now. They started to look around the wide garden and in their own little murmurs of a language questioned each other where Tails had gone.

A smile formed on Sonic's mussel as he watched the fox land quietly right behind the large group before announcing loudly "Here I am!"

Instantly the Chao's turned to him and with hearts once again they all ran to him and clung onto his legs.

Sonic couldn't help but laugh at the odd sight in front of him. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone, deciding to take a picture of the fox and his little fan group. He took several just for the sake of it, until a new little Chao suddenly appeared in his screen, blocking out the view of anything other than it's grinning little face.

"Hey!" Sonic exclaimed before placing his phone down and picking the Chao up, being careful not to wake the one that was already in his arms. No shortly after the new Chao made itself comfortable, wriggling on Sonic's lab until it found its way under his jacket and hugged onto his stomach.

"Oh seriously? Come on little guy that tickles" he laughed while trying to pry the Chao away without disturbing the others. It turned out he was fighting a losing battle.

"Something you're not telling me Sonic?" he heard the younger voice ask jokingly as Tails walked up to his side, still being followed by several Chao's, and sat down next to him.

Sonic looked down and saw what he was referring to. The Chao hiding completely under his jacket made him look like he had a pregnant belly. "Ha, ha, ha" he scoffed sarcastically, "Knuckles is the father, that's the real secret."

Tails burst out laughing. Sonic unzipped his jacket and pulled the small Chao out. Taking the hint the Chao gave a happy chirp before running off to the fruit trees. The hedgehog was distracted for only a moment before Tails pulled at his sleeve, getting his attention. "We should take a selfie" the child grinned widely.

Sonic raised a brow, "Really bud?" he cringed, "We're not girls… though I did just say I was pregnant. Okay fine" he caved in. In all reality it was because Tails was staring at him with wide pleading eyes and he was having a hard time in saying no to them.

Picking up his phone, Tails moved closer to fit in on the screen. He picked up a Chao of his own and held the small creature between him and Sonic. The hedgehog had his own Chao in the shot, and he was able to muster up his natural arrogant smile while Tails stayed friendly. The next photo Sonic stuck out his tongue while Tails crossed his eyes. The photo after that the Chao's decided to take over and prod the two lads in the face.

Flicking across the screen Sonic snorted at the second photo, "That would totally be my profile pic on Spacebook, if I still had it" he passed thoughtlessly before placing his phone back in his pocket.

Tails stared at the hedgehog for a moment, haven been paying all his attention to the Chao rolling on his lap before, "Did you find out who hacked your account?"

Sonic sighed to himself, not from the question but because he had hoped to get away from all those problems while he was here. "Kinda. I asked them about it but it didn't really get me anywhere. It doesn't matter though because I don't have an account anymore now so…"

Tails nodded, looking back down to his Chao. "How did you find the Chao garden? It's said that they're so sacred that only a handful of people have ever found them before" he spoke in fascination. At this point it seemed anything Sonic did just made him marvel in wonder.

The hedgehog thought for a moment, "To tell truth I actually can't remember. I was just exploring around and I found the cave in the mountain. Went inside and before I knew it, boom secret passage way to a Chao garden."

"So you've been here a lot then?"

"For a couple of years. The problem with Chao's is that they're so friendly they trust people too easily. This makes them easy targets. That's why if you find a Chao garden you have to register it to the Chao protection act" Sonic explained, leaning down and petting a new Chao that decided to join in the little gathering and rub against Sonic's leg.

Tails giggled and reached forward, beckoning the Chao to come to him, "So did you register this garden?"

"Heck no, once you register they flood the place with cameras and security gadgets. Plus you have to take an oath not to visit again and blah blah blah, stupid legal reasons."

Tails cocked his head to the side; he couldn't help but stare at Sonic in curiosity now. It seemed like the hedgehog was losing himself in thought, and was easy to figure out why.

"You love coming here don't you?"

Sonic nodded his head, "Obviously. These guys are amazing. My Uncle told me as well that a lot of Chao's end up in cages because of these protection people. Hunters will track their energy and it gets enhanced by the security systems so they can actually find them. When this happens the C.P.A steps in and take the Chao's away from their gardens, keep them locked up in cages" he sighed sadly.

"Can't they put them in other gardens?"

"The Chao's fight, they need to be in their original home or with someone who raised them. Trust me it's a lot easier to keep it a secret."

The young fox nodded, taking in what he had learned, "You know I never would have taken you for a Chao lover" he commented, nudging his arm slightly.

Sonic scoffed at him, "I'm not a Chao lover, I just look after these little guys. Besides I have a dog okay, I'm a dog lover if anything."

The grin started to grow wide, "Come on admit it, you love all animals. You're a big softie!"

"I am not!" Sonic shouted defensively. He went to cross his arms but sadly the Chao in the middle of them made it impossible for him to do so, making Tails's point stronger.

"You love animals. You have a heart."

He started to snarl at the little song Tails was singing, "Yeah so what if I do? What you think that makes me soft or something?" he snapped.

Tails quietened himself when seeing how aggressive Sonic's attitude had turned. He raised his hands, "I-I never said that. Sonic please calm down."

The hedgehog blinked a couple of times, then it seemed like he suddenly realised how he had been acting. He dropped his shoulders and looked away, his ears drooping low.

"Sorry" he mumbled, deciding to distract himself with the Chao's on his lap.

Despite this Tails still pushed on with the matter, "Is everything okay Sonic? You haven't been normal all day."

Feeling uneasy, Sonic tried to ignore him, but Tails wasn't letting the matter go. "How come you were hiding behind the School before? You looked really upset about something" he tried again. He watched as Sonic inhaled a deep breath, looking irritated. He started to wonder if the hedgehog was restraining himself. He knew he should take the hint but he wanted an answer, a response, or anything. He had to try something else.

"Sonic… can I ask you something?"

"What?" the hedgehog spat.

Tails paused for a moment, trying to put his thoughts into words. He found looking Sonic in the eyes nearly impossible, but the hedgehog wasn't looking at him either.

"Why do you do it?"

Sonic turned his head to him, his brow raised high and his lips paused in a thin line trying to work out if this was going somewhere good or bad.

Tails was too busy playing with the Chao to notice. "I-I mean, at School… when you're with your friends. You pick on people a lot. Like a few of the kids in my after School Science group. One time they said you and Knuckles smashed their projects after they spent months working on them. And another time when you slapped a girl because she bumped into Sal… your girlfriend. She tried to apologise, but you hit her and she fell into the lockers."

Sonic felt his chest grow tight and his throat closed up, causing him to say nothing as the fox carried on.

"There was another time when you broke someone's leg as well, and caused several riots in the School. I just don't understand, you've done all those things yet here you are looking after Chao's and… and…" he struggled to finish.

Looking up slightly to see how Sonic had taken when he said, he was surprised when he saw the hedgehog looking uncomfortable, yet impatient for him to finish, "and?"

Tails took a deep breath, "And being the only friend I got."

Sonic turned his head away, for the first time to the fox he actually looked guilty. He started to worry if he had over stepped the line, and maybe Sonic would revert back into the bully and tell him never to speak to him again. But surprisingly the hedgehog was quiet. He even placed the Chao's down onto the grass so he could let his arms drop lowly.

He started to play with the grass, pulling it out from the mud. "I don't know… It's complicated I guess" he tried to sound casual, like it was just a normal conversation, but Tails didn't believe it.

"Well, is it because of the others? Do you feel like you need to impress them?" he asked, unknowingly to Sonic referring back to what he read in the diary.

Sonic snorted and shook his head, "It's not that. It's just how things are. You either beat or get beaten."

Tails looked down sadly, "Like with you and Shadow?" he spoke, but as soon as the words left his mouth he realised too late what he had said.

Sonic's head snapped to him, his eyes wide and practically stunned at what the child said, "What?!" he gasped out heatedly.

"N-nothing I…"

"How do you know about Shadow?!" he spat angrily, quickly turning angry.

Tails's bottom lip started to quiver under the hedgehog's daunting razor like glare. He didn't want Sonic to go back to the way he used to be, he didn't want to lose him as a friend.

"I-I didn't! I-I mean, someone told me at School" he blurted out, that being the first thing that came to his mind.

"Who told you?" Sonic snapped at him, practically scaring the young fox. "I don't… Umm, someone said it was on SpaceBook. They were asking me about it and they mentioned you had a rival at your old School called Shadow, that's all I know I swear!"

Sonic paused for a moment, determining whether it was true or not, "Who was it that told you?" he asked again, his anger no longer concentrated on Tails. The fox darted his eyes anyway he could, so long as they weren't on Sonic.

Then he did something he hoped he never would have done. "It was Antoine" he blamed.

Instantly Sonic started to growl in his breath. He threw his hand into his pocket and snatched his phone out.

"What are you doing?" Tails asked nervously, Sonic didn't even flinch. "I'm asking a friend for his number, and then I'll show that snob what happens when he puts his nose where it doesn't belong!"

In a sudden moment of panic, Tails threw himself onto Sonic and tried to snatch his phone away, "NOOO DON'T!" he cried out, "Tails what the hell?"

Sonic stood up quickly, but the fox did the same. They both held onto the phone, Tails feeling more desperate to do so, and pulled back and forth to have completely control over it. Being stronger Sonic simply held the phone high and shoved the fox down to the ground.

Tails scrambled to his feet and tried to jump for it, but Sonic held the phone high out of his reach. Not giving up Tails spun his tails and flew up, grabbing the phone before the older teen had seen him do so.

He landed behind with his feet firm on the ground and clinging to the phone with everything he had.

Now Sonic was mad, "What is wrong with you Tails? Give me my phone back!"

"No! This is what I'm talking about Sonic; you can't let anyone do anything when you're involved. We're not allowed to look at you, we're not allowed to talk to you, we're not allowed to talk about you. How crazy do you have to be before you realise enough is enough!?" he shouted, becoming out of breath. He knew he was walking on thin ice when it came to Sonic. The hedgehog was so unpredictable that he couldn't tell if Sonic was paying attention or if he was ready to attack.

The said teen was doing neither. He simply crossed his arms over and stared down at the fox with aggravation. "I am not crazy" he stated firmly, "People think they can get away with treating me like crap, all I'm doing is showing them where I stand! And guess what kiddo, it's with my foot on their faces!"

"But what did I ever do to deserve it?" Tails finally cried out, having enough of the empty questions that racked his mind every day. "Why did you pick on me every day? Why did you keep calling me a freak? Why did you make fun of me for being smart, and for not having friends, and having two tails, and… and… Ugh! Just why Sonic? Why did I have to go through all that? What did I do to you?"

"What did you do? Well let's see for one you showed up Knuckles in front of the whole classroom and made out that he was stupid, and on a more personal note you asked me why I wasn't locked away in a lab somewhere getting tested on" Sonic replied bitterly.

A moment of silence passed between the two, neither really knew what to say next.

Sonic crossed his arms and stared at the rocks just behind Tails head, the said fox was looking down to the floor, as if suddenly realising his guilt.

"I'm sorry" the shy timid voice mumbled. Sonic raised his brow, but the fox actually looked legit. Tails stood with his hands behind his back and his ears lowered sadly. Then the alarm bell rang off in Sonic's mind when he saw the kid had tears running down his face.

"I-I was really scared that day. It was my first day of High School and I was skipping a few years already to be in your class. I thought everyone would pick on me… So I tried to be cool… like you said."

Sonic sighed deeply, his anger slowly leaving him, "Either beat or get beaten" he repeated from before, knowing what Tails had been talking about.

The fox sniffed loudly, "I wanted people to think I was cool, and not just a loser with two tails. I thought I was going to make friends for once but then you started picking on me and everyone joined in. Now I'm the freak of the School!" he fell down to his knees, wiping the rest of his tears awkwardly.

Sonic was unsure what to do or what to say. So he just casually sat down beside the young fox and leaned himself back into the grass, getting comfy.

Tails watched him and miserably decided to copy.

They both lay on the grass together, Sonic with one hand behind his head and Tails curling in to himself trying not to cry.

"I think we scared the Chao's off" Sonic said with a simply statement.

Even though he was upset, Tails still chuckled at the bland sense of humour.

He turned his head to the side; all he could see was Sonic's profile, the teen staring clearly into the clouds like there wasn't a care in his mind. He couldn't understand him; he didn't think he ever would.

"Did you change your mind about me?" He trembled with a broken voice. Sonic turned his face towards him, seeing now that Tails wasn't actually lying that far away, but only a couple of inches.

He sighed once again, needing the sense of relief that it often gave him. He battled in his mind whether to talk to him or not, but his need to appease took control. "You want to know the truth? I never thought you were a freak; it was just easy to say it given you had two tails. The guys started on you and I guess I took over… and went a little too far. The reason I invited you to hang out me a few weeks back, when we went to the mall… was because… well you saw me crying and I was worried that as payback you'd tell the whole School."

"… oh" Tails suddenly felt empty inside, and it showed. He was ready to just get up and walk home, but as he sat up he felt Sonic grab his arm.

Looking down the hedgehog was smirking at him, as if the child was being stupid, before pushing him to lie back down.

"If you'll let me finish next time, you'll see that I wasn't just trying to shut you up, but despite everything I did to you… you still came to see if I was okay. I mean I ran into Knuckles, he saw I was upset as well and he just let me go. You actually followed me" he started to chuckle. "I guess I realised I actually needed a real friend… and… " This wasn't easy for him to admit "Out of everyone in School, I'm glad it was you."

The smile that beamed upon Tails's tearful features couldn't have been more genuine as the fox felt himself choke up on the words he heard. Before Sonic knew it the kid pounced on him, wrapping his arms around his torso and buried his face into his chest.

"Yeah okay I know where alone but watch the street cred okay" Sonic tried to pry the younger one off him, but Tails was clutching for life here. There was no getting him off now.

So Sonic just huffed to himself in amusement and let his head roll back onto the grass, leaving the younger fox to lie against him. It wasn't long before the Chao's all came running back and decided to make themselves comfortable against the hedgehog as well, much to his annoyance.

"Sonic why were you upset that day?"

"Don't push it kiddo."

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The day had gotten on and the sun had started to set, leaving the sky in a hue of orange and pink.

Ahead of himself, Sonic's shadow took the lead as the hedgehog walked slowly up his pathway, his hands in his pockets and his hood over his head for no reason at all.

He had his ear phones in and was so busy absorbed in his music that when he reached his porch he nearly fell on his face as he tripped over something.

Pulling his hood back to get a proper look, he nearly fell backwards at what he saw.

"Amy? What are you doing here?" he cried out, pulling his ear plugs out.

The young girl stood up from the steps of his porch and walked closer to him. "Sorry, I tried to call out to tell you I was here but you didn't hear me… or see me, but whatever it's cool. You said you wanted to hang out today, you know just talk and all that. I've been waiting here since after School, I thought you'd be home before I was."

Sonic suddenly felt a little repulsed by her now, "You mean you've been sitting there for hours just waiting for me? Isn't my Uncle in?"

Amy smiled as if nothing was abnormal, "Yeah he's in, and he told me to wait on the door step for you."

The blue teen rolled his eyes, "Typical" he scoffed.

"So anyway are we doing anything now?" she pushed on, taking his hands in hers and batting her eye lids.

Sonic felt a bead of sweat roll down his face as he looked at her uneasily, "Umm I-I don't know Amy, it's pretty late and I'm not really in the mood to talk now."

She stared at him, her smile was now fake and forced while her eyes shone brightly with disbelief and a slight twitch. "That's… totally fine. We can hang out tomorrow. Promise?" she forced herself to say.

With a shaky breath Sonic returned a crooked smile and nodded his head, "Yeah sure, sounds great."

She leaned forward with her lips pouted ready for a kiss. Sonic however didn't notice as he took his hands out of her death grip and walked straight past her, leaving her behind.

Darting around, she watched as the door was shut on her, leaving her alone outside in the looming dark.

Amy felt her chest heave heavily. Her brow turned upwards sadly and a small whimper quivered from her lips. But it was soon gone when she started to shake angrily and she glared at the house he lived in. With no clear warning she stomped her foot on the ground and released a loud high pitch scream which carried on for a while.

She never stopped screaming as she marched herself back to her own home. She screamed as she pulled out her phone.

She screamed as she ran into her garden, picked up one of the garden tools and held it level to her face.

Then in the fit of anger and painful rage, she still screamed, letting go of everything he ever did to her, and used it to find the strength she need to smack the garden tool across her face.

She fell back onto the ground, the tool fallen from her hand and her throat sore and swollen. She finally stopped screaming.

With heavy breaths, she felt stunned, but slowly pushed herself up from the ground. She pulled out a mirror from her pocket and looked at her reflection. Across her face, below her eye her skin had become red and irritated. Already she could see a bruise slowly forming in front of her, looking nasty and serious.

She nodded in approval.

Picking her phone up she went to her messages and picked out the one she had read before.

_Hey Amy it's Mina, Rouge gave me your number. We're all going to a girl's night tonight, you fancy coming? We got some more dirt on Sonic if you're interested? :P Sally's been telling us a lot lately lol._

_Let me know, loves ya xox_

Amy hadn't replied to her. She had been too busy looking forward to spending time with Sonic.

But now…

_Yeah sure, can't wait. Where you guys meeting at?_

With the text sent, she went off inside to get herself ready. But before she did so, she went onto the SpaceBook account she was currently logged into.

She chose the option to upload a new picture, and holding the camera up high, she smiled miserably, looking like she was being forced to appear happy with the massive bruise that now swelled the bottom of her eye.

Satisfied with how it looked, she uploaded it.

**Spending time with the bae. We totally know how to have a good time ;)**


	23. He's Not Worth It

** Well I am off on sick so naturally it's writing time yaaay.**

**If there's any misswording btw I have a good excuse, I'm ill.**

**Thank you guys for the reviews, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story, and I'm afraid this is the very start of something intense that is about to follow.**

**Enjoy.**

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"You guys I am telling you, she came out with us last night and the bruise on her face was huge! It looked really bad."

"Yeah she was totally quiet the whole night as well. The poor girl's head must have been all over the place…"

On the regular meeting at their lunch table, the two girls Mina and Bunny had the attention of everyone sitting around as they went on about the latest news. Jet and Silver, along with everyone else paid complete attention, believing every word the girls said, feeling appalled by it.

There was only one who seemed doubtful, and Knuckles made sure it was known, "Come on you really believe Sonic would do that to her?" he rolled his eyes whilst asking.

Mina was the first to react, "Yes I do! Sonic goes too far and you know it. He cheated on Sally after promising he loved her, he's hit girls in the past before so why would he treat Amy any differently?"

"Not only that but he even posted a picture of her on SpaceBook, claiming they were having fun. She looks miserable in the picture" Bunny added.

Blaze, who sat next to Silver, shook her head furiously "This is low, even for him" she spat. Her eyes swiftly turning to Silver, making the white hedgehog look down nervously, "I-I don't know… I think something's going on with him…"

Jet narrowed his eyes, "Oh you think? The guys a crackpot, that's what's wrong! He needs to be in an asylum not School."

"Whoa Jet, what's gotten into you?" Knuckles snapped, startled at the hawks remark. Jet, along with the others, simply stared at the echidna like he was the one they had been talking about.

"He's insane that's what. Come on Knuck's you know how bad he's gotten. I mean did you see what he put on SpaceBook about the party?" Jet then reached for his phone and opened up the SpaceBook comments before handing the phone to Knuckles for him to see.

The echidna's eyes traced along the statements before growing wide and alarmed. "He wrote a status about having drugs at the party?" he questioned suspiciously. Jet and the others seemed convinced at what they saw though. The hawk snatched his phone back and shoved it into his bag. "Yep. And now thanks to blue-freak my parent's think I did drugs. I got in trouble with the police, and I'm officially not allowed to go out with anyone ever again. So thank you Sonic, my life is officially ruined!"

Knuckles placed his hand to his chin and lowered his eyes, "No that can't be right, we hardly saw Sonic at that party. Someone told me he went home early… this doesn't add up."

"Well clearly we didn't see Sonic because he was busy getting high with the junkies in my back yard" Jet snapped angrily, crossing his arms and looking away in a huff.

The argument was clearly about to escalate, but Bunny shushed everyone down when someone caught her eyes. "Amy!" she called out, everyone now following her gaze to the young pink hedgehog who was about to sit at a few tables behind.

The hedgehog looked up to where her name was called and smiled lightly when the older rabbit motioned for her to sit with them.

Moments later she was there and everyone was staring at her uneasily. She pretended not to notice as she placed her lunch tray down on the table and took her seat, next to the spot the famous blue hedgehog would normally sit.

"Hi guys" she spoke timidly, pretending she didn't realise everyone was staring at the massive bruise that took up most of her face.

When the silence settled in, the more popular kids started to look at each other, hoping someone would speak first.

"Amy what happened to your face?" Blaze asked abruptly, earning the disbelieving glances from everyone as they all shared the are-you-kidding-me look.

Amy blinked a couple of times before looking down and played with her hair, "Oh um… Nothing, I just had a bit of an accident."

"Really? It looks pretty bad" Jet laughed uneasily, not being good at hiding the awkwardness behind it.

Knuckles rolled his eyes at them all, deciding to keep himself out of the conversation before he lost favour with them all as well.

"Yeah, you didn't seem all that good last night. Is everything okay?" Mina joined in.

Pretending she was overwhelmed, Amy placed her hands together and looked down sadly, "Sonic says it's best if I don't talk about it" she mumbled.

An instant reaction occurred. "Of course he did, because heaven forbid anyone should ever squeal on him!" Jet angrily moaned while throwing his hands into the air. It was surly followed by everyone expressing their own disgust with the blue hedgehog.

"He is just pathetic, completely pathetic! He can't even be a man and own up to what he did!" Blaze started. "You know what, he's done a lot of crappy things but this is taking it too far. Amy's his girlfriend, not his punching bag!"

Bunny reached over the table and took the pink hedgehog's hand in her own, "Amy listen to me, we know you really like him but Sonic is not worth you going through this, he's really not. If he's hurting you then you need to get out while you can" she spoke with concern, almost everyone at the table agreeing with her.

In silent frustration Knuckles held his head in his hands, doing everything not to blow up as Silver placed his hand on the innocent girl's shoulder, "Amy if you need to talk to us, or want to just hang out we'll look after you. We won't let Sonic get you if that's what you're worried about."

Amy started to stutter, her head rushing as all of Sonic's friends tried to convince her to leave her boyfriend. She did everything to keep herself from smiling.

Everything died down though when Mina nudged the others and told everyone to shut up. Looking up she watched as none other than Sonic walked up to the table with his hands in his pockets.

They all looked at each other, only using their eyes to insult him as he sat himself down in his usual spot. He didn't have any lunch with him (again) and he didn't say anything, just stared at the table with his mind clearly high in the clouds.

Knuckles had to shake his head a little as he raised his brow. When looking over to the others he knew they had been giving him dirty looks, but even now they were confused as they stared at the blue hedgehog. Amy was too.

"Um Sonic?" Knuckles called attention, getting the speedster to finally snap from his thoughts and looked up in question. "What the hell happened in detention?"

Sonic looked at him strangely. Glancing to the others they seemed to be seeing something he wasn't aware of. Subconsciously he brought his hand up to his face, his fingers tracing along his lips until he felt a stinging sensation when his touch met broken skin from a busted lip.

Immediately he knew what they were talking about.

"Don't be an idiot, all I get in detention is stupid lines to do" he laughed, not realising his rude attitude was adding to the others newly found dislike of him.

"Then what happened?" Knuckles asked, ignoring the insult.

Sonic took out his phone, keeping himself distracted with it and leaning back in his chair. He gave a small glance to Amy beside him then grinned, "We got in a bit of a fight last night as you can see" he joked.

However he was too distracted by his phone to realise that everyone sitting at that table had taken him completely seriously and were turning to each other with alarm bells ringing, silently asking each other what they should say or do.

Angrily Jet opened his mouth ready to speak, but Sonic cut him off quickly, "Oh shoot I'm supposed to meet Tails now!" he announced before jumping from his chair and picking up his bag. "Right, see you losers around" he grinned carelessly, just like he normally would, before turning his back to them all.

"Sonic wait" Amy called out, turning around on her chair. Sonic paused and looked back, his brow raised in question as he wondered if he had forgotten something.

"Oh right" he suddenly remembered, pacing quickly towards her he bent down and gave a quick, meaningless peck on her lips before running off again.

"No I was going to ask if we're going out… Oh never mind" she sulked, crossing her arms and pouting sadly.

Knuckles, deciding he had been quiet for too long, stood up from the table, leaving the others to comfort Amy. He ignored the questions of where he was going and made his way out of the lunch hall.

It didn't take him long to catch up with the blue hedgehog that had left moments ago, he had only made it to the lockers at this point. He didn't shout out, not wanting to draw attention, but it made no difference as to Knuckles surprise when Sonic yelled out fearfully as the echidna grabbed onto his arm to slow him down.

"Whoa dude chill, it's me" Knuckles said, holding his hands into the air.

Sonic was short of breath as he was clearly startled by the sudden appearance. He placed a hand to his chest and tried to steady his breathing, "Sorry... I just… sorry" he gasped, shaking his head a little feeling like he made a fool of himself.

"Why are you so jumpy lately? Sonic what the hell has been going on?" Knuckles asked regardless, not beating around the bush.

The blue teen was still gathering his thoughts and struggled to reply, "I don't know… what are you talking about?"

Groaning, the echidna momentarily picked up on the sound of chattering nearby. Looking he saw there were still a lot of students around, so he grabbed Sonic's arm again and wilfully dragged him to somewhere quiet and secluded; the back of the School building. A place Sonic knew all too well.

When seeing where he now was and the fact they were totally alone, the hedgehog laughed in amusement, "Well you could at least have brought me dinner first."

Knuckles quickly let go of his arm, "Very funny Sonic, now tell me what's going on" he repeated impatiently, no time for games. Sonic simply scoffed at him though, "Whoa hey who said there's anything going on? I'm supposed to meet Tails, how's that suspicious?"

"How about the fact that you're actually spending time with the freak to begin with" the echidna shot back, Sonic immediately got defensive, "Oh big deal, we're working on a Science project together. I'm only doing it for credits so I don't have to repeat a year."

"Oh really? So you haven't been all paly with him, he's not your new BBF? You've not been putting him before everyone else?"

"Okay so the kid's not a complete nerd and we get on. Gee Knucks didn't think you the jealous type!" the hedgehog spat back, getting himself wound up at the interrogation. He turned his back and tried to walk away, having enough already, but Knuckles grabbed his wrist.

In a moment he cried out painfully, but the echidna was too busy talking to notice, "That's not all and you know it! I don't care if you hang out with the kid or not, but why is he hanging out with you after all the crap you put him through huh? Suddenly hanging out with the guy who beats you up everyday is totally understandable. And speaking of beat up, why do you have a busted lip? I know there's no way Amy did that to you so tell me the truth."

Sonic rubbed at his swollen wrist, trying to push past the throbbing sensation before glaring angrily at the echidna, "Tails just wants friends, he doesn't hold grudges. And I was kidding about Amy, obviously we didn't have a fight. I fell over on a rock, what more do you want?"

"If that's the case then why does Amy have a black eye?"

"I don't know" Sonic carelessly shrugged.

Knuckles inhaled deeply. He took a few steps closer until he stood directly in front of the hedgehog, reminding the younger teen he was actually the smaller and much weaker one in size comparison. "Sonic I'm going to ask you only once okay, and I want you to tell me the truth" he spoke almost patronisingly.

The hedgehog's eyes started to dart away, not feeling comfortable under the pressure.

"Did you hit her?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sonic pushed him back in outrage. He started to scoff at the complete insult of the question, the whole concept that Knuckles could even think he would do that.

"Sonic just listen-"

"You seriously think I would do something like that don't you? Don't you? You're like the one person in this dumb who actually knows me and yet the first thing you come up with is I hit her? Not anyone else did it but it was me?"

"Well that's what she's telling people!"

For a moment Sonic stood in silence, his mouth opened agape.

"You're kidding me right? She's telling people I hit her?" he shouted, clenching his fists angrily.

"Yes!... well no" the echidna thought for a moment, and suddenly recalled what was actually said, "She didn't actually say you had hit her… But she's implying it!"

"How?" Sonic cried out

"Well when everyone asked about it, she said you told her not to talk about it."

Sonic rolled his eyes in frustration, "Oh my gosh I can't believe this" he groaned, gripping onto his quills, "I did tell her not to talk about it, but not like that! We walked to School together this morning and I asked what happened, she said a book fell on her before she went to bed. I only told her not to talk about it because I was worried people would think she was lying and put the blame on me! I didn't think she'd be stupid enough to go around telling people I told her not to say anything! That makes it look worse!" he paced around, finishing his rant by kicking a nearby rock.

Knuckles took in what was said, now seeing the situation for how it really was, "But that doesn't make sense, why did you put it on SpaceBook last night?"

"What are you talking about?" Sonic groaned, stopping and looking at the echidna like he said something stupid.

"No last night, you uploaded a photo of Amy with the bruise; you said you two were hanging out."

Sonic paused for a moment, unable to process what he heard, "T-that's impossible, I don't have SpaceBook anymore. I deleted it when it got hacked" he argued.

"Yeah I know, but you made a new one afterwards… didn't you?"

"… no."

Everything was quiet as the reality of the situation came crashing down upon both of them, and they stared at each other now realising what had been going on this whole time.

" Oh no" Sonic slipped his fingers into his quills, his whole body starting to tremble as he did so, "no no no no no..." Knuckles watched uneasily as the hedgehog scream loudly and angrily before throwing himself towards the wall they hid behind and unleashed a series of rage filled punches and kicks.

"It's not fair! It's not freaking fair!" he continuously screamed out, punching again and again in the same spot until he finally gave one last blow, and the sound of a crack filled their ears.

Knuckles looked from the broken bricks in the wall, to his friend that stood in front of it panting deeply.

After a moment, Sonic had finally calmed down. He slammed his head against the bricks and sighed.

He didn't move for a bit, so Knuckles walked to him. "Sonic, come on" he started; now talking in more friendly terms. He placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder and pulled him to move away.

But he was completely thrown off when Sonic turned to him, his lips quivering and his eyes full of misery as tears fell past his cheeks.

Subconsciously Knuckles darted his head around to make sure no one was there to see this. They were the only two around, but he still gently pushed Sonic's back against the wall, having a weak grip on his shoulders while he tried to stand in a way that would shield the younger teen if anyone was to find the two.

"Hey dude, come on this is ridiculous, why are you crying?" the echidna asked, acting like Sonic was embarrassing the both of them as Knuckles couldn't stop being on the lookout just in case.

Sonic couldn't hold back the sob though as he lowered his head down and closed his eyes tightly.

Knuckles felt at lost for words, not knowing how to handle the strange situation. "Hey stop it! You don't need to be such a girl about it. So someone made a new account in your name, you really having a period over that?"

The hedgehog groaned angrily and placed his palms to his eyes trying to wipe the tears away, but he couldn't stop himself crying. "You don't get it!" he wept bitterly.

"What don't I get?" Knuckles could feel his own frustration as the grip he held on Sonic's shoulders grew tighter.

Then in a sudden outburst, Sonic pushed him away "Tails knew! Tails knew about Shadow" he continued to cry.

Knuckled bit down onto his lip tensely, now suddenly realising what the problem was. "How could he possibly know about Shadow, you didn't tell anyone did you?"

"Yeah Knuckles I thought it would be a bonding moment. No I didn't tell him you idiot! He said he found out from Antione" Sonic angrily spluttered out, struggling to contain himself.

"Antione? How would that snob know?"

"Tails said it was on SpaceBook. That's how they found out, that's how everyone knows about it, Knuckles! What am I going to do?" he desperately pulled at his quills, feeling his breath getting caught in his throat as his knees suddenly felt weak.

"I thought it was on the old account, but now someone's made a new one and I have no idea what they've been putting on" he started to choke up even more, unable to stop himself from crying, "Not only that but my old diary went missing a week ago. I can't find it and it's got everything in there! Everything Shadow did, everything about the orphanage, some really personal secrets, everything!"

Finally Sonic got himself too worked up to handle it. He folded his arms around his stomach and let his legs give way as he fell down to the floor, unable to control the bawling of tears "What am I going to do? There's things in there I can't have anyone see. If anyone finds out then that's it! I'm ruined! It's game over and I'll lose everything! A-and if people find out about Shadow… what if it reaches him? What if he finds me? What am I going to do?" he screamed loudly, begging for an answer in his desperate and frightened state.

Knuckles couldn't watch anymore. He kneeled down to the hedgehog and tried to pick him up, but Sonic angrily pushed him away, placing his head down onto his knees instead so he saw nothing. Knuckles was left to watch as the hedgehog wept lowly beside him, unsure what to say next.

"Sonic…" he had no response.

"Look, we don't know if anyone has taken the diary or not and as far as I remember I saw nothing said about Shadow or anything diary related okay. You got to stop getting so worked up over something that might not even be happening. Maybe you just lost the diary somewhere, and yeah okay there's a hacker, it's probably some stupid freshman trying to be cool and fit in. When we find whoever it is, we'll beat that person up, okay?"

Sonic finally stopped trembling; he lifted his head up slowly to reveal red puffy eyes. He sniffed a couple of times, thinking over what Knuckles said before nodding lightly. "Yeah… yeah o-okay, y-you're right" he wiped away at his face. A small laugh became lodged into his throat and he shook his head, "It's pathetic… I keep crying and I don't know why" he tried to say light heartedly, pushing it to the side. Knuckles didn't dismiss it though, "Wait you mean you lied to me about having something in your eyes when you kicked me in the stomach?"

"Well… the others were there" he defended weakly, Knuckles laughed in amusement, "Don't sweat it blue, I knew you were lying."

A smile tugged at Sonic's lips as he started to appreciate the kind of friend Knuckles really was. Lately things had been on the edge with the two, but at the end of the day, the big dumb red echidna really was the only person in the School whole knew him well. He was the only one Sonic had told about Shadow and what the messed up child had done to him, along with being at the orphanage. For a while having only one friend and being in need of someone to talk to at a young age, he shortly found out that Knuckles really was someone he could trust, knowing the echidna would keep a secret if it meant losing his life over it, he never had any reason to doubt his trust, even when they were fighting. Even now, he could never suspect the echidna, he just knew him too well.

"Come on, let's meet up with the others, we're planning on playing a bit of football" Knuckles randomly announced, patting Sonic's arm before standing up.

Sonic, knowing he had to snap out from his state, rubbed at his eyes again to make sure no tears were left, "I'm supposed to be helping Tails" he protested.

Before he knew it Knuckles had grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him up to his feet, "Well the kid can watch if he has too, you need to stop working yourself over nothing" he stated firmly, before turning his back and walking towards the School grounds.

Sonic didn't follow at first though, he still wasn't sure if he was ready to face anyone at this point as worries and fears ran across his brain, threatening to fall out with more tears.

Looking back, Knuckles turned around and threw an arm around the hedgehog's shoulders, "Seriously dude, we got a lot to figure out but I think for now you should stick with me. We'll get it sorted and no one is going to know a thing. Shadow is far behind you now okay?"

He could only smile gratefully in return, not fully believing him but knowing he had to try. The two teens left the secluded area.

Well it was almost secluded.

Around the corner, the one place Knuckles couldn't see, Rouge sat comfortably with her legs crossed and her ears pinned back, listening to everything that was said.

Now that the boys were gone, she placed her chin in the palm of her hand and thought to herself, curiously wondering how she could use this new piece of information.

Reaching into her bag, she picked up the small little black password book she still had.

Perfect.


	24. Spy

**A very quick upload, as I said being off sick has its perks :)**

**Thank you guys for the reviews on my last chapter, I'm glad you all liked the intensiness of it.**

**Though I must warn you, this is where the real drama begins people. This is where it all starts!**

**So enjoy ;)**

* * *

With a small sigh of annoyance Tails closed the door to the Science lab behind him and stood in the middle of the moving crowd within the hallway. He was still looking at the text message he received moments ago, easily irritated by what he saw. The young fox shook his head and rolled his eyes; Sonic was supposed to come and help him with his Science project, but instead the hedgehog had texted him up asking to meet up on the football field.

He didn't have time for that but this was Sonic he was talking to, he couldn't say no to him now.

So begrudgingly he unzipped his bag and threw his phone inside, swinging it back into place on his shoulders.

When he made his way towards the football grounds, Rouge grinned deviously.

She leaned herself up from her locker and carefully paced forward, following the young fox whilst blending in with the crowd.

They both soon approached a double turn point, either to go left or right.

As the fox moved to turn to the left, she moved by him swift fully, placing a small black book into his backpack before turning right, all in one graceful action.

He hadn't even known she was there.

She turned the corner, she moved past people who looked at her with distain. She happily ignored them all as she brought out her phone, giving it complete undivided attention.

She texted her little partner in crime, giving her some new information, and a couple new suggestions on what to write on their SpaceBook page regarding a certain black hedgehog Rouge just happened to be acquainted with.

* * *

Outside on the football pitch, a completely different atmosphere filled the air in comparison to the back stabbing tension that reeked within the lunch hall.

As usual all the guys got into their assigned field positions, Jet, Silver, Espio, all the usual crew, along with several others who normally played in the game, filling out the missing members, when the team like to practice.

Despite listening to the girls before and expressing their own dislike of the blue teen, no one said anything as Sonic took charge of his team and led the ball away.

In fact they welcomed him regardless and much to their surprise he didn't use his famous speed that made him the star player. He ran at normal pace just like everyone else, even passing the ball to his teammates and letting them take charge when needed. For once it was like everyone had to take part and not sit out on the benches, and everyone was having a good time, just messing on and being foolish like they always did.

Knuckles stood in goal, just like always. His guard was currently down as the guys on the field had stopped actually playing when Sonic playfully tackled Silver to the ground when the hedgehog scored, the other guys cheering too enthusiastically at the meaningless victory and was now challenging each other in some way or form.

Looking to his side, he noticed Espio standing not too far away, so he gave a sharp whistle to get the chameleons attention and motioned for him to come over.

Espio jogged to him and stood by his side, his arms crossed and little emotion on his serious like features. He liked to think of himself as a Ninja, haven taken multiple martial arts classes and having an ability of camouflage. The others just thought he was a nerd but rolled with it.

"What's up Knuckles?" the chameleon asked in his dark gritty voice. Half the time Knuckles swore he was putting it on just to add to his image, but he didn't bring the matter up anymore.

"Look, you see something weird going on?" he motioned, pointing towards the large group of guys.

Espio looked for a moment, taking in what they were all doing and the way they were acting. "I'm deciphering that due to recent events you are in fact regarding to Sonic, who at the moment is showing off a few tricks with the ball while face palming Silver whose trying to tackle him. I don't see the problem" he commented.

Knuckled narrowed his eyes, "I know that, he's not doing anything abnormal, and yet if we look over to the bleachers…" he turned to the side slightly, his head looking over. Espio quickly followed his lead and searched for what he saw.

Sat on the bleachers, the freak geek with two tails sat by himself. His bag was left next to him as he had made himself comfortable. On his lap was a notebook, a large one at that and sat happily writing as everyone played the game without giving him a thought of being there.

"Do you see it?" Knuckles asked. They both waited a moment, observing as the fox quickly turned his towards the group below him before turning back to his book and writing things down. He did this several times.

Espio saw it, "He's watching Sonic isn't he?"

Knuckles nodded, "Only one way to find out. Hey Sonic!" the echidna called out loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Not only did he get the attention of the team, but the fox looked up from his book and watched in curiosity, just as Knuckles thought he would.

Walking quickly towards him, Sonic was soon stood in front of the echidna with his hands in his pockets and a small smile, "What's up?" he asked casually.

With a grin Knuckled held up a mobien bill in front of his face, "Soda break, you mind seeing as it will only take two seconds?"

Sonic lowered his eye lids and groaned, "Fine" he said before snatching the money.

In a swift sudden movement, he dashed from the football pitch, kicking up the wind and nearly blowing the others down.

It didn't stop them from seeing it though. Knuckled nudged Espio to watch the kid in the bleachers, and they both noted quickly that as soon as Sonic used his speed, Tails grew frantic before turning back to his note pad and hastily writing a lot more notes.

"He is writing about him! Why?" The chameleon questioned, turning back to look at the red teen.

Knuckles opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of a blast and he was met with a cold can of soda being placed in his hand.

"Huh?" he questioned, momentarily forgetting what was going on. Sonic raised his brow and smirked at him before zipping off once again. They watched as this time he didn't go back towards the teammates, but ran up to the bleachers and appeared, as if from light, right next to the young fox who quickly shoved his notebook back into his bag as fast as it took Sonic to run to him.

Knuckles felt his neck grow hot as he watched the two talk back and forth for a bit. He didn't know what they were saying but it looked very innocent, which was the problem.

He faced back towards Espio, "Whatever is going on I think the fox is to blame. He's up to something I know it, and I think it has something to do with this Science project he's roped Sonic into. You up for a little spy work Ninja?" he grinned, knowing he had said all the right words Espio needed to hear.

With a glean in his eye, Espio lowered his head in traditional Japanese approval, "You can count on me boss" he stated.

Then within a blink of an eye, he used his incredible chameleon abilities and blended into everything that was the background, appearing completely invisible.

Knuckles knew he could easily rely on him. Espio was the kind of person who would take any task serious enough to go the extra mile.

Espio however took this an extra ten miles.

He remained invisible for the entire day, following the hedgehog and fox around and listening for anything they said that sounded odd.

At the end of the School day, he watched as they both left together. They walked to the edge of the street before Tails jumped up onto Sonic's back, and within a flash they were both gone.

Espio groaned to himself, but made his own personal note in his pocket diary he kept in his glove that they both had gone off.

The next day he resumed his work. He followed the two around, only stopping when going to class. They were hanging out a lot lately; Sonic was even ignoring most of his other friends, and his girlfriend, in order to spend time with Tails.

The chameleon grew more suspicion.

Unseen to both of them, he stood silently at the back of the Science room. He watched and listened to everything that was going on.

Sonic was picking up machinery and packing it all up to boxes. "You really need all this stuff?"

Espio watched the kid who wrote in his pad again, "It's all mine so I don't want to leave it at School in case someone else uses it and it breaks. Sides there's so much room at the Mystic Ruins, it's the perfect place for us to test out the engine."

Intriguing… the Mystic Ruins…

Sonic tripped slightly, he became frantic when losing his grip on one of the boxes. Seeing this and panicking, Tails rushed from his notes to help him.

Espio took the moment and went to the paperwork on the desk Tails left unguarded. It was surrounded by blue prints for an engine of some kind. He tried to turn the pages of the notebook, recognising it as the same one he used on the football pitch, but he was almost knocked to the side as the young fox came running back, only barely missing the chameleon by an inch.

"Almost forgot, can't leave these" he announced before grabbing the notebook and blue prints, packing them up as well.

Afterwards they left, Espio followed them again.

He watched Tails walk Sonic to Mrs. Winters room, apparently he had detention for the rest of the year now after causing the riot. He felt curious as to what went on in that room sometimes. Whenever he passed he could always hear opera music that seemed a bit too loud, and after Sonic came out he always acted… differently.

But he decided to follow Tails instead.

When the hedgehog was gone, the young fox walked towards his locker. Espio stood closely and watched when Tails used the combination to unlock the steel door.

Nothing much happened afterwards, but Tails didn't take anything out. Instead he reached into his bag and placed inside a few books, and much to Espio's surprise, he placed in a couple of blue prints.

Shutting the locker door, it was once again locked and Tails walked away.

He waited until the fox was completely out of sight before he reappeared, no longer becoming invisible to those around him. Espio looked back ways stealthily, making sure no one was paying attention.

He copied the combination he watched Tails use only moments ago and grinned to himself slightly when hearing the familiar sound of a lock being undone.

Reaching into the locker, he pulled out the blue prints, opening them up and seeing what they were.

He took out his pocket book and made another note.

The next place he found them together at was the Train Station. Little did Sonic and Tails know, Espio stood right behind them as they stood together, chatting casually, each person holding a box of their own and waiting for the train that would take them to Mystic Ruin.

Espio had no problem when it came to boarding the train. He hadn't even needed to buy a ticket, though he couldn't really afford if he wanted.

It was just as easy to get off at the same station they did, not letting the beauty of nature take over when Sonic and Tails made their way to the small house built at the top of a rocky cliff above the ocean.

He followed them inside, letting them take the lead before all three ended up into a large room that must have been built within the cliff itself.

Inside a lot of machinery and wires had already scattered across the room, making it look more like a lab. It also had a lot of old gym equipment that was covered in dust, making it wonder if that had been the purpose of this room before the two had come along. The hedgehog and fox already started working on setting up their latest task.

Wiring up a computer, Tails hooked it up to an old looking treadmill, punching away at his key bored and taking his notebook from out of his bag.

Sonic was busy plugging everything in that he hardly listened as Tails used big words when explaining the reason behind their latest test.

"Yeah sounds great, but why do I have to run on the treadmill?"

Espio picked up at the conversation, curious even more at the fact that it sounded like Sonic didn't even know why they were doing any of these experiments.

"Well, the engine has to be condensed enough to be portable. While you've been in detention and in my spare time at home, I think I've managed to come up with a brilliant idea of how to compress the structure while still having the same velocity and drive as a normal engine…"

"In English please?" Sonic dead panned. Espio was actually grateful for it as he failed to keep up also.

"In other words if the engine I built now can keep up with your speed then it should still work when I make it small."

"Thank you."

Being unable to get out his notepad, Espio made a mental note of everything the fox said.

He stood a long time, just observing everything that happened between the two as neither had any idea he was there.

Tails finally got everything in order and Sonic raced across the treadmill, running up to speeds faster than he normally went.

Espio followed the computer screens, watching all the monitors and listening to Tails as he reported to effects of each one.

When the fox reported it to Sonic though, he kept mentioning the engine, but he talked about it being for a plane, or being able to put it into any plane he wanted.

What Espio saw on the blue prints the fox worked on, all the monitoring on the computer screens, everything that was placed in a way that Sonic couldn't see any of them, there was nothing that showed a plane or an engine was involved.

What he saw on the screen was a 3D model of Sonic's whole body, moving to the simulation the hedgehog created when he ran. Tails hadn't really explained when he started putting sticker pads on Sonic's body, hooking him up with more wires and cables before he ran, even though Sonic had questioned it several times.

Espio got even closer, to the point he was leaning over the fox to look at his work. He finally saw a glimpse of what was written in the notebook. It was all in big Science words that even he didn't understand, but what he knew for sure was that even in the notebook there was no mention of an engine.

He tried to read more, but he was startled as the fox gave out a sharp scream when the computers and treadmill all sparked and went out with a loud bang!

Flinching backwards, Espio waved the smoke out of his face and resisted the urge to cough.

He looked up to the others. Sonic had been thrown to the other side of the room while Tails was busy fussing over his computers.

"No! My babies!" he cried out.

"What the heck happened? I was just running as normal."

"I think it was too much power, it over loaded the system."

"That's not good. You think you can fix it?"

"I have to or we'll lose all the research over wise… I'll do it later though. I think we need a break."

"Good idea bud. Tell you what, how about we nip over to the nearest town and grab a bite to eat."

"Yeah okay" the fox agreed, and in a moment Espio marched forward to follow them. But he stopped. As Sonic picked Tails up to help him onto his back, the chameleon looked around, realising that not only was all the research left behind but so was the fox's bag.

He waited for the sudden bolt of light that quickly followed by the slamming of a door from above, then Espio no longer had reason to be invisible.

Reappearing, he went to the School backpack. He sat himself down and opened it up, wasting no time in looking through. There were a lot of books, how the kid carried them around every day was beyond him. But he went through them all, picking each one out and looking at the title before placing them back. It was mostly School books to begin with, but he pulled out what looked to be a small black notepad.

Opening it to the middle, there were a lot of names he recognised; names of different websites, bank accounts, email addresses, even security labels. Under all of them were different digit codes, mostly a random collection of letters and numbers.

He flicked through the pages again, and something instantly caught his eye.

Labelled at the top of the page, was _SONIC'S SPACEBOOK_ and under it was a long list of different codes and numbers, but each one was crossed out, a line going through the middle. There was about ten of them, and it was only the code at the very bottom that wasn't crossed or scribbled out.

Looking around again, Espio took out his phone. He got his camera and took a picture of the page.

Closing the book, he opened up to the very front page. His eyes widened when he looked at the name that was written inside.

"Charles… This belongs to Sonic's Uncle" he mumbled to himself. Looking again, not far from under the name, it was actually written what the book was used for.

_The password book_

He took another photo before placing the book back where he found it. He carried on his search, looking even deeper into the bag. He felt something strange, like paper sticking out of another book. Bringing it out and holding the book up clear for him to see, the chameleon's eyes grew wide and he gasped at what he read.

In his hands was Sonic's diary, and in the middle of the diary was a small paper book that was titled Medical Journal.

He opened the diary to the page the journal was at, and to his attention he noticed that it was only a couple of pages away from the very end of the book.

It was suddenly clear that the journal was being used as a book mark.

* * *

Early morning and Knuckles waited impatiently at his own locker. He leaned his back against the cold metal frame, using his phone as a distraction so as to not look like he was waiting alone like a loser.

He could feel himself grow more impatient with every minute that passed by.

Espio had told him to wait, claiming he had found out what was going on.

Knuckles couldn't explain why but he felt almost a chilling wave run through his stomach as he waited. He wasn't nervous though, he had no reason to be he told himself. He was just eager, that was all.

He couldn't help but release a breath of air though. He had gone onto SpaceBook to check up on a few things as he waited. Going onto Sonic's account he instantly felt his face heat up when he saw that there had been several posts put on recently, each one referring to him being in an orphanage and some actually talking about Shadow.

The comments under them showed how in shock most people felt at what they heard. Several students asking who Shadow was and why Sonic was afraid of him, others simply stating they had no idea he was from an orphanage.

All these conversations soon lost track though, as they turned from questions to full blown debates and insults.

Knuckles sighed, his brow turning up sadly in disbelief, "How did they know?" he whispered to himself, now wondering if he should break the distressing news to his friend or not.

He didn't have to answer that question.

Espio shortly showed up, and though it seemed impossible he looked even more serious than he ever did.

"Finally! Where have you been? I thought you were going to spy on him for an hour not three days!" Knuckled snapped at him, leaning up from his locker and walking towards him.

He was completely thrown off though as Espio grabbed his arm and dragged him to one side, away from the nearby group of students who could easily hear them.

"We have a problem. It's a big one" the chameleon brashly stated, keeping his voice low for only the two of them.

"Why, what did you find out?"

Espio reached for his phone, opened up the pictures he took and showed them to the red echidna, whose eyes grew wider and angrier with every photo he looked at. The photo's raged from writing inside notepads, to computer screens with various information, to thing's Knuckles had wished he hadn't of seen, or at least that he couldn't understand what this all meant.

The phone shook within his balled fists and a terrifying growl emitted from his bared fangs.

"Sonic think's their both working on a new type of engine. _This_… along with the blueprints I found in the kids locker, suggests otherwise."

Knuckles stared at the chameleon, looking ready to snap.

"That fox is going to pay!"

* * *

**Dun Dun DUUUUUN!**

**What do you think? Will Sonic believe Knuckles if he tells him? What was Tails really working on? What other questions can you think of that I currently can't?**

**Tell me in the reviews what you think will happen and if anyone get's it right I will give them a personal shout out in my next chapter :)**

**Until next time...**


	25. Tails The Traitor

** Another update, I told you I'm so bored right now this is what I'm doing with my time. Though the next chapter might not be up as quickly, but I just had to get to this point because this my friends... Is where it all goes wrong. **

**Thank you so much for all the reviews, shoutout to greenone15, your insight to the last chapter was pretty inspiering not gonna lie, you pointed out a writing style I wasn't even aware of so thank you. **

**Please leave a review at the end of the chapter and hold your breath guys, this is a bumpy chapter ;)**

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Tails stifled a small yarn as he stood by his locker. It felt like it had been a long morning already and the day hadn't even started yet.

Sonic stood next to him, he was casually chatting away about something while Amy stood with his arm around her shoulders. She was a lot more attentive then the fox was at this point. He just felt so dreary, like he could fall asleep at any given moment.

This however wasn't the case as out of nowhere Tails felt two strong hands grip the fur on his chest and slam his back into the hard steal locker door.

Sonic and Amy jumped back at the sudden crash and pretty soon the everyone around them stopped what they were doing and stared with dropped jaws as the red echidna held the fox up so his feet dangled in the air and pushed him against locker with a bone cracking force.

"YOU LIAR!" Knuckles spat out, his snout snarled and his eyes filled with blistered rage.

The young fox squirmed fearfully under the hold and tried to loosen the grip the older teen had.

"Knucks what are you doing?" Sonic shouted. He lashed out his hands and pushed the red echidna back, causing him to let go before Tails fell sluggishly to the ground, his bag dropping down beside him.

Amy was shortly by his side to see if he was alright while Sonic continued pushing Knuckles away when the echidna advanced once again.

"What is wrong with you?" the hedgehog shouted angrily, blocking him from reaching Tails.

"What's wrong with me? Maybe you should ask that to your little friend!" he growled, again lunging forward at the cowering child, but Sonic caught him before he could and pushed him away once more.

"Stop being so paranoid, he 's not doing anything!" the blue teen yelled out defensively, now starting to feel his own anger blaze. His fists clenched tightly, knowing he was ready to use them.

His eyes only darted from the echidna when he saw Espio jog up to both of them. Instantly the chameleon tried to stand in the middle of the two, his hands held up as a sign to stop, "Enough, Knuckles you need to calm down."

"Don't tell me what to do! I'm not the problem here. The problem is that freak over there!" the echidna shouted again, pointing his fist towards the kid that stared in horror.

Sonic shoved his hand away, "Knuckles just stop it!"

"No! He's lying to you! He's lied about that project you're working on, it's got nothing to do with a plane or an engine for that matter. Why do you think he needed you for so many tests?"

Sonic was taken back and simply stared at the echidna, not fully understanding yet being too angry to work it out, "B-because he needed to monitor my speed, so he would know if it would work with the engine…"

Espio stepped forward with a calmer approach, "Sonic there isn't an engine, the whole thing is made up. He's monitoring _you_!"

The hedgehog froze, his eyes dilated as a sudden chill ran up his spine. He started to shake his head when a wave of nausea hit him, "No… no don't be stupid…" he started to laugh in a nervous manor, but he nearly choked on his own breath when Espio gave him a known serious look, showing he wasn't messing around.

Feeling his lungs grow tight, Sonic spun around and stared at Tails, who sat on the floor, with his bag clutched firmly within his own little arms. The fox stared at him with fearful pleading eyes, but to Sonic it looked more like guilt.

It was true.

With his fists clenched and his brow furrowed down, Sonic stepped almost hostile towards the young fox. Tails in turn felt tears burn at the brim of his eyes and he held his hand out in a pitiful way to stop the hedgehog's advancement, fearing what he was going to do, "No Sonic please, I can explain" he begged.

The older teen scowled at him before strong arms lashed out and grabbed the bag he held onto for poor life. "No!" Tails cried out, trying his best to keep the backpack in his own grip. But Sonic was a lot stronger, and the hedgehog had no problem in ripping the bag straight from his arms.

Turning his back, Sonic opened the bag and reached inside. Tails quickly jumped to his feet, and in a panicked attempt he grabbed onto Sonic's arm and tried to retrieve the bag back.

He was too late though. Sonic held it too high for him to reach and before he could fly to get it the hedgehog had found the big notebook he was looking for.

The bag was dropped carelessly to the ground, books scattering out onto the floor, but Tails didn't care anymore.

The fox was slowly backing up trying to force the tears not to fall as Sonic stood in the middle of crowd, each student wondering what was going on. He opened the notebook and quickly read through.

Tails heart beat grew faster and faster, while Espio and Knuckles stood patiently, knowing they had done their part. As Sonic read through the pages, his face completely dropped to a look of horror and feelings of violation ran through him when his eyes darted along every sentence, taking in every diagram that was drawn and every chart, all of which were dedicated to him.

He spun around, his eyes staring wide and disturbed at the young fox who stood with his head held low. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he spat out, arms shaking as the book suddenly felt heavy in his hold.

"I'm sorry!" Tails started to cry out, but Sonic cut him short.

"You were researching me? You were trying to work out how my body works! What kind of twisted freak does that?" he shouted, his voice breaking as he involuntary scoffed bitterly, not able to believe what he was saying. He slipped his hand into his quills and gripped tightly, feeling the need to hurt something.

Tails felt his shoulders shudder while he looked up at the older teen pleadingly, "No I can explain" he moaned miserably. Sonic however shook his head at him, unable to come to terms with what he found out. "Explain what? How you used me as a lab rat?"

"N-no, I-I just needed the data! I only wanted to know how you ran so fast without burning up!" Tails try to reason, but Sonic only glared at him deeper, "Yeah sure because that's what it says in the book doesn't it _traitor_!" he hissed, and with a quick toss of his hand he threw the book towards the fox, hitting him squarely on the chest and causing him to fall with a _Humph._

With Tails winded on the floor, Sonic turned to face him fully, his fists balled up and his teeth bore angrily, "I told you I didn't want people testing me! I told you I wasn't cool with it the first time you asked me, we made a deal!"

"I know I am so so sorry! But I needed this so badly, I-I didn't know how else to get you to agree to help me" Tails pleaded once again, now standing up and trying to calm the older one down.

Sonic however was only growing more hysterical, "What do you even need this for? Seriously I can't get my head around why you did this! You wrote about some seriously messed up personal things! You wrote about how my pelvis work- Just seriously what the hell?" he suddenly screamed out, gripping his quills once again now feeling like he was instantly losing his mind.

He forgot about the crowd around him, each one staring at each other in disbelief at the drama that was unfolding before them all. A few thought it was an idea to get out their phones and record the whole thing.

"I had to! I needed to know everything!" Tails argued back.

Sonic shook his head franticly, "Why?!"

"For this, wasn't it kid?" Knuckles suddenly shouted out, making himself known again. He marched his way towards Tails locker and with one swift punch he dented the lock enough for the door to swing right open. He reached inside and pulled out the blue prints the kid had stashed away.

He held it opened and showed it to Sonic.

"Oh my gosh…" Sonic mumbled, a lump getting caught in his throat when he realised what he saw.

"The whole project was to design these shoes; special running shoes that give you the ability to run as fast as the speed of sound. The problem he had was that if anyone used them they'd burn up from the friction. He needed to test you to find out how to resolve that" he explained.

Sonic stared back at the fox, his jaw dropped low.

Tails held onto his arms, hugging himself as close as he could. His eyes shone brightly as tears fell down to his muzzle, no longer able to control himself anymore as he started to sob.

Sonic's chest rose heavily, his breathing loud enough for everyone to hear as he seethed bitterly. His brow was drawn deep and his fingers gripped into the edges of the blue prints.

If it had been anyone else they would have been in the hospital by now, but this time he held back. He snatched the prints straight from Knuckles hands, and he held it high for the kid to see.

Tails wept sadly as the older teen tore the pages down the middle, folding it over and doing the same again before throwing the shredded pieces at his feet.

He didn't say anything, he just shook his head at him, and that to Tails hurt more than a punch ever could.

Sonic turned around; ready to leave, but Knuckles grabbed his arm, "Wait" he exclaimed. He nudged his head down towards the ground, where a pile of scattered books lay around messily.

The hedgehog looked at them, at first confused and impatient, but his eyes widened in horror and a sharp gasp cried out past his mouth. He threw himself down to the pile and pulled out the small, old looking book he recognised too well.

"My diary!" he cried out, opening the pages just to make sure it was actually his.

Tails started to shake, his teeth chattered together and he suddenly became paralysed. It felt like time had completely stopped and the only ones that were in the room were him and Sonic.

The hedgehog stared bewildered by the dairy, but then slowly turned his head upwards to the young, trembling fox. With every fibre of his body, he felt himself burn. A hot blazing anger that projected to his face, and for the first time he felt he actually hated the fox.

"It was you" he breathed deeply, his voice low and firm.

Tails shook his head but struggled to speak, "I-I just wanted the journal" he tried to explain.

Something in Sonic's eyes grew dark as they suddenly seemed threatening all on their own "What did you read?"

"N-nothing! I needed the medical journal for information!"

"Tails. What… did you read?" his voice seethed deeper, sounding as venomous as a cobra.

The fox shook his head lowly, tears falling once again. No longer did he have a voice to speak with, but he tried to apologise several times more.

The air was too tense for anyone to make a sound, but Espio remedied that as he walked closer to the hedgehog. He picked up a small black book from among the pile and held it out, "Sonic" he whispered lowly.

The hedgehog snapped his trance with the fox and looked down.

Within a matter of seconds, anger turned to despair as he recognised the book. He took it into his own hands and stared at it, too many emotions running through his mind for him to know how he felt, but everyone could see it clear on his face, he felt betrayed.

He shook his head slowly "It was you… You hacked my account!" and quicker then it took before, his feelings of anger and hatred returned.

He had no time to answer.

Dropping everything, Tails screamed loudly and the whole crowd around them suddenly woke up and cried out at the scene that played in the middle of them.

It happened in a blink, Sonic threw Tails to the ground and pinned him down so he was unable to move. His fists came crashing down like rocks, pounding on anywhere he could find, several punches to the kids face, several punches to his chest, along his arms, anywhere he could see.

"YOU RAT! IT WAS YOU THIS WHOLE TIME!" Sonic screamed at him, his voice cutting like knives through the young fox's ears. Tails wailed out, pleading for him to stop. The older teen grabbed onto his wrists when the fox tried to fight back. He pinned them to the ground before quickly throwing his hands to the boy's neck and gripping tightly, his teeth bared wildly while the other choked for air.

The only person who had tried to stop the fight was Amy. She tried to run to Sonic but Knuckles threw his arm around her waist and stopped her before she could, "No let me go! Sonic's gonna kill him!" she tried to fight back. Knuckles paid no attention; instead with his spare hand he held his phone up high, recording the whole fight before them.

Tails clawed at Sonic's arms, kicking up his legs in hope to throw off his balance, but nothing worked. Just when his vision started to blur, he felt the pressure on his throat disappear. He gasped and blinked his eyes, hoping it was over. He was wrong.

Sonic still had him pinned down, and in the only moment Tails had to stare up at him, he was met with a large fist as it came shooting down, crashing heavily into his eye.

In a daze his head fell to the ground, lolling side to side.

Finally Sonic let go of him. He stood up, but it was only for a moment, and with one last look of disgust and rage-filled hatred, the hedgehog lunged at him again. This time he grabbed onto his feet and dragged him forward.

"NO! NO SONIC PLEASE NO!" Tails shrieked out, tears streaming from his eyes as he forcefully sat himself up and pounded on the hedgehog's back. It was useless though.

Sonic again had his legs pinned under his. He held one foot under his arm and with both hands forced his beloved LightSpeed shoes off the child's foot before throwing it to one side.

At this point Tails bawled his eyes out. As Sonic pinned the leg down and went to the other Tails found that all his energy and fight had gone. Now he leaned against Sonic's back, bitterly gripping onto the loose material of his hoodie and burying his face deeply, "Sonic please don't!" he cried again and again.

Sonic ripped the shoe off and threw it with the other one. When he stood up, Tails fell forward, now resting on his hands and knees and suffering at the humiliation that was showered onto him as the surrounding crowd pointed and laughed, getting out their phones and photographic him.

Sonic picked up the pair of shoes and held them up for him to see, getting the fox's deviated attention.

"I paid for these, so they're coming with me" he spat before opening his own bag and throwing them inside forcefully to make a statement. "I trusted you Tails… I actually thought you were different, but you're just another freak trying to fit in!"

Tails felt his heart rip from his chest, the words echoing through his ears from the moment he heard them. His mind ran back to everything from the diary, every entry he read, every statement Sonic wrote about being alone, about being called a freak, and being lied to and no one believing his story. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair!

Sonic turned his back on him, he turned his back on everyone. With the shoes in his bag he forced his way past the crowd of people, pushing them to the side. It didn't go down well as everyone picked up on his bad attitude and found themselves becoming repugnant. Knuckles and Espio said nothing and let him go, Amy however wriggled her way out of the grip and ran after the blue teen.

The pain in Sonic's chest became unbearable, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore. He was too angry to think straight, his lips trembled and he breathed uneasily.

Yet naive as ever, Amy "stalker" Rose grabbed onto his arm and tried to bring him to a halt, "Sonic stop. Go back and apologise, you're not thinking right."

With a sudden growl Sonic snapped. Grabbing both her arms he pushed her forcefully into the lockers, her head slamming off the metal causing her to lose consciousness and fall to the ground.

"Amy!" Knuckles suddenly cried out, the shock of what happened causing him to panic. The crowd that had moment's ago cheered the blue hedgehog on, now turned on him and accuse him of going too far.

Sonic ignored it all. He paid no attention to Amy as she came around, nor did he pay attention to Knuckles who tried to catch up with him and get him to calm down.

"Hey!" There was only one voice that got his attention.

Spinning around, the crowd almost dispersed at his hate filled glare. The only one standing up to him was a small twin tailed fox that was covered in bruises and wore nothing but socks and gloves. Tears still ran fresh but he was far from sad now. Just like the hedgehog he admired, he was angry.

"You're right! I did read your diary, I read everything! You try to act like you're this incredibly cool, untouchable guy whose better then everyone and that can do whatever he wants and we all have to put up with it. You're so full of trash, you came from an orphanage!"

Sonic's shoulders dropped, his bag almost slipping off and falling to the ground. He stared at the young fox that finally stood up to him with utter disbelief. His heart pounded within his chest and his face flushed nervously. He was too stunned to say anything as the crowd around him questioned Tails words, all the secrets that were finally pouring out.

"That's right, Sonic the hedgehog came from an orphanage! He had no friends, no one who loved him and used to spend the nights on the streets just to get away from his care taker! And the only reason he stopped doing that was because one night he got dragged into an alleyway!" Tails started to cry out, now realising that he was the centre of attention and everyone was listening, waiting for him. He was happy to talk to the crowd and give them what they wanted.

They all stared at Sonic, the hedgehog wanting nothing more than the ground to swallow him up so he didn't have to face their judgemental features. His hands drew to his face as he pathetically tried to hide himself from the sheer humiliation.

"Also I know all about Shadow and what he did to you! The way he pushed you around and treated you like you were dirt! He beat you up several times, forcing you to beg for him to stop and he used to make you call him things like Master, and Highness! He put you through hell and yet here you are doing exactly the same to all of us. I'd go as far to say you're no different from him. In fact… You're worse! Because he didn't lie to his family about who he really is-"

The sentence wasn't finished. In a dart of light that blinded nearly everyone, Sonic was no longer there but a round spinning saw that blasted forward, giving Tails no time to react as it slammed directly into him. The impact and power of speed that was used sent blistering white pain to stream through the young fox's body before he was shot backwards.

The crowd around screamed out as the eight year old impacted the wall so hard that he crashed all the way through it and landed on the pile of bricks that scattered along the bottom.

The whole area was covered in dust but students fanned it away and rushed to the fox's side. The kid held his head in his hands, blood running down his forehead and falling from his nose as he screamed out in agony.

"Someone get help!"

"Is he okay?"

"He's bleeding"

"Call the nurse!"

Sonic heard none of these. The world around him moved at a slow pace while all he could hear with a high pitch tune that sounded like a flat line. Everything seemed surreal as he stared through the large hole in the wall, staring down at the young fox who was being helped by the other students that kept him lying down.

It didn't feel real, his mind wavered in and out and he felt nothing, even when other students pushed past him to reach Tails.

Just when everything felt fake, he was pulled back into the real world. Two arms wrapped around his chest and like being pulled up from water he regained all his senses.

He heard her voice, and he knew who she was.

"What did you do you monster? You're coming with me right now!" Mrs. Winters voice screeched like tyre tracks. As she dragged him backwards, he dug his heels into the ground and struggle in her hold. He wanted to call for help, but no one was looking at him.

Teachers ran past the both of them and not one looked his way to see how she violently clawed at his skin, or how he was clearly fighting against her, that he clearly needed someone to help him. They all ran to Tails.

The child was struggling to stay awake as they all surrounded him.

Once she opened the door to her classroom, no one noticed the whimper that cried from his lips or the tears that fell from his eyes.

The door closed and locked. No one would notice now.

She took hold of his shoulders and threw him to the middle of the classroom, not caring that he fell to the desks.

He leaned against them, his heart hurting too much for him to stand on his own. He couldn't breathe anymore and he felt the rise of anxiety pine through him.

He didn't hold it back anymore, with a lonely wail of sorrow he dropped to his knees, his head resting heavily on the desk he held onto. His shoulders trembled as he broke down completely, whimpering with his back turned to the teacher. He felt so much pain in his chest, it was beyond anything he had ever felt.

For once though, when Mrs. Winters screamed at him, when she picked up her metallic ruler that she always used, when she lifted his hoody up to get a clear aim at his back, his tears and heartache weren't for her.

He fell to the ground, curled on the floor with his head in his hands and his body suffering the effects of a high rated panic attack, with each loud sob he cried and each broken down whimper, they had nothing to do with her.

Sonic was in pain for Tails.

He hurt the one true friend he ever had.


	26. New Rumours

**New chapter Whoop!**

**A very big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, a lot of you left some really good reviews and I am so greatful for them. **

**I want to give a shoutout to Stitchfan82 who actually mentioned something in the review I hadn't thought about for the story and have decided to add it in.**

**So thank you very much, all you guys are amazing and I hope you keep reviewing :)**

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Sonic lay on his bed. The duvet had been long kicked to the floor hours ago as a result of a restless night. His knees now drew up to his chest and he buried himself as deep into his pillow as he could go.

His eyes remained opened and wide.

He stared across his bedroom, just as he had done so for a while, to the backpack that sat against the wall, taunting him cruelly.

He hadn't opened his bag since that day. He hadn't gone anywhere near it, yet he couldn't stop thinking about what was inside. It was like a fear to him now. He wanted to get it away as fast as possible, he wanted it to stop plaguing his mind, and yet he couldn't stop staring at it as if it was a spider staring him down.

Normally Sonic wasn't one for being afraid of his own backpack, but he knew what was inside, and every time he thought about it his stomach would churn. His diary was inside, along with the black book that he really needed to give back to his Uncle. But he knew that to do that he would have to look at those shoes.

The LightSpeed shoes he bought especially for Tails. Because the first time in what he could remember he actually felt a bit of pity towards someone else that wasn't him.

The hedgehog breathed deeply, closing his eyes for the first time in a while before turning his face into the pillow, not bearing to look at the bag anymore.

His whole body ached and cramped at the slightest of movements, a result of Mrs. Winters daily detention. It felt like she nearly broke every bone in his body, all his muscles were stiff and the bruises on him had intensified.

However he hadn't felt it at the time. His mind was so out of place that he didn't register the beating she gave him. In fact it was only until his head hit the pillow that he felt the physical pain that emitted through him.

His nightmare was what haunted him the most.

The words Tails said to him cut through as it repeated through his brain again and again.

_You're just like Shadow!_

He kept trying to reason to himself he was nothing like that. He could never be as bad as Shadow was! He just couldn't!

Yet his subconscious made it clear to him. Because for the first time that night he didn't dream of Shadow or Mrs. Winters drowning or attacking him. The dream was the same, but in his place was Tails and Sonic himself was the one holding him down.

He couldn't sleep after that. Instead he went onto his phone, and using Knuckles account he logged onto SpaceBook, knowing he had to reassure himself he wasn't a monster. The red echidna had told him the password ages ago, trusting Sonic would never abuse it.

Going onto 'his own' account, he read every different post and every comment people had left.

Tails left out nothing. He posted about the orphanage and made several statuses about Shadow and the bullying he used to get. It looked like the entire body of the School had seen it as well, and all had an opinion and something to say.

The end resulted in the hedgehog rushing to his bathroom and throwing up the meal he never ate. He had felt sick ever since.

Sonic opened his eyes and lifted his head up slowly as a light knocking sounded from the door. He wasn't sure why but he felt nervous as the door was opened and an elderly man walked through with a friendly smile.

He lay his head back down into the pillow, wrapping his arms around the soft frame and holding it tightly.

Chuck furrowed his brow sadly as a tired sigh filled the quiet air. He walked to the bedside before sitting himself down next to the young teen. Sympathetically he placed a hand on Sonic's head and brushed his messy quills back to their place.

"I didn't see you much after School yesterday" he commented, remembering how Sonic had rushed to his room and screamed at his Uncle for not leaving him alone. Chuck had tried everything to get him to calm down so they could talk, but Sonic had somehow barricaded the door. He knew he had to leave him alone for a while.

"I got a call from Robotnik, he said there was a bit of an episode yesterday."

The words sent a chill all the way through Sonic's spine. He turned his head away from the pillow and looked up to his Uncle. The older hedgehog could see easily the amount of worry that was in the young teens eyes. "W-what did he say?"

"Well, he told me that you had a falling out with Tails. He said that it got a bit out of hand and before the teachers could break it up Tails ended up falling and hurting himself" he put it lightly, still running his fingers through Sonic's hair comfortingly.

The teen hadn't caught onto it though and he instantly grimaced with a harsh moan, his hands going to his stomach as he felt it churn once again before throwing his face back into the pillow.

Chuck drew back his hand and watched as the hedgehog did this before his horse voice muffled through the pillow, "Are you mad at me?"

"Of course I'm not mad at you Sonny, friends are always going to have fights no matter what. From what Robotnik told me there was a misunderstanding and you both got a little heated. I know the little boy ended up going to Hospital, but he told me that was due to an accident" the elder hedgehog explained.

In a stunned moment, Sonic pushed himself up from his bed, ignoring the cracking of his stiff bones, and sat up so he could face his Uncle properly. He didn't say much, just stare at the older man with a questioning look in his eyes that the other read instantly, "Well okay I was disappointed at first, but I thought it would be fair to hear your side of the argument."

Sonic looked down sadly, for once not knowing what he should say. He felt his Uncles hand rest upon his shoulder. His stomach twisted and spun at least twenty laps, making him want nothing more than to throw up again.

He couldn't look his Uncle in the eyes, but he leaned into his reassuring hold, "I… Tails stole my diary… and my medical journal, and your password book" he admitted tiredly. He felt the hand on his shoulder tense, knowing that his Uncle had not expected him to say that.

"He um… The project we were working on. He told me we were trying to compress a powerful engine so he needed me to do a few tests to monitor my speed and stuff. Turns out the engine was a fake, he was actually studying me" he laughed bitterly, knowing that he couldn't stop his heart from sinking as he spoke about it.

Chuck stared at him, completely shocked by what his nephew told him, "He was studying you? What for?"

"I don't know, apparently he wanted to make these shoes that makes you run faster than sound or something, he needed to know how I could handle speed without burning up" Sonic shrugged, actually struggling to remember what it was Knuckles had said about the project. He hadn't really thought about it much now.

"Well I can understand you getting upset Sonny, there was no need for him to lie to you and all but it doesn't sound like he was being malicious about it, he just let Scientific curiosity get the better of him" the older hedgehog reasoned, actually speaking on the fox's behalf.

"Chuck it was so messed up! He wrote reports on me, had diagrams, even 3D model things on the computer. He wrote about my body, and how it worked! He wrote about my legs, and my hips and… AGH!" Sonic threw his face into his hands, becoming more frantic by every word he spoke as the violation he felt grew throughout his body.

His Uncle placed his arms around him, his hand gently rubbing his back as he struggled to form the words that floated in his mind into one complete sentence.

"It just… It made me think of the hospital… The first time I ran after my legs were broken and you took me there for a check-up, just in case it did any damage. I kept thinking about the Doctor that came in after Dr. Quack left the room. He kept saying he wanted to know how I did it… his hands went everywhere…" he cringed lowly, unable to say anything more before burying his face into his arms once again.

Chucked looked at him sadly, knowing there wasn't much he could reason with. His nephew had been pretty much broken by the time he got care of him, so he wasn't surprised by the fact that Sonic remembered events at the hospital a lot differently then what had actually went on.

The nurse that tried to draw blood from him, he thinks she tried to stab him in the arm with a knife. The Doctor that dressed his wounds was the Doctor that touched him inappropriately, and the nurse that helped him sit up was the one that dragged him around and tried to rip his arm off.

Chuck would never disregard the childish, or not so childish, stories but he had been in the room with these Doctors and nurses the whole time. He saw everything they did and it was never what Sonic told.

The Doctor Sonic believed tried to experiment on him to figure out how he ran so fast was actually Dr. Quacks assistant who was doing a physical exam so make sure his legs weren't broken, much like the one Quack performs now. The man had been talking to Chuck at the time stating his curiosity at the child's speed and ever since then Sonic had believed he was violated.

Even now Sonic didn't believe his Uncle when he told him what really happened, he was too convinced by his own story. He hated hospitals and that was it.

Chuck let out a small sigh, knowing that getting into that argument again wasn't a good idea. So he gently pulled Sonic's hands away from his face and made the boy look at him. "Why did Tails have your diary?" he asked, knowing he shouldn't have moved on so quickly, but at this point Sonic was used to him not saying much about the Hospital.

The teen hedgehog sniffed a little and shook his head. He took a deep breath, knowing that saying it out loud was going to be difficult; "He wanted to medical journal, apparently" he rubbed at his eyes, "I don't know why… he hacked my SpaceBook account. He uploaded a lot of personal secrets about people in School, he kept insulting everyone and causing fights and made it look like it was me. Then after he read my diary he wrote about my secrets and now everyone knows I came from an orphanage and who Shadow is."

A moment of silence passed by, and all Chuck could do was stare down at his nephew as the teenager rubbed at his eyes continuously, his cheeks burning a bright red. Instinctively Chuck placed a hand to him, feeling the intense heat. He moved his hand so it placed to Sonic's forehead after noticing the small beads of sweat that fell. His whole face was burning up and under the redness he looked sickly pale.

"I thought he was my friend… I trusted him with a lot of things… and all this time he was stabbing me in the back! Why would he do that?" Sonic choked sadly, his breathing became hard to bear as a loud sob ripped from his throat. He felt his Uncle pull him in, resting Sonic's head onto his shoulder and holding him as close as he could.

Sonic didn't care about the shooting pains that danced along his body. He held onto his Uncle with the little strength he had left and he buried his face deep into his neck, letting the tears spill past his nose and melt into the older man's fur.

Suddenly he felt two soft hands cup onto his cheeks, lifting his head up slightly and brushing away the tears with his thumbs. "I don't know how to answer that Sonny, the only one who can is Tails himself. I know you're upset but if you want to find out what was going on, you need to speak to him. This time calmly and with a reasonable mind."

Sniffing, Sonic held the hands on his face and pulled them away, shaking his head slightly as he lifted himself up, "No… I just can't. I can't face him. It's bad enough I have to go to School where everyone is talking about how I put an eight year old in the Hospital" he cried.

Chuck paused a moment, looking down slightly in a light contemplation. Making up his mind he looked back to the younger hedgehog and took a hold of his hand, "Sonic, I've been wanting to talk to you about something for a while now" he started. Sonic felt himself grow tense, instantly thinking the worse of what his Uncle could say to him.

"You've had so much trouble at School lately, you come home crying your eyes out, you end up with bruises on your arms and legs and I know you said it was self-harm, but I feel like there's a lot more to it than that. You never even explained to me how you cut your lip recently, you just said you fell let you always do."

Sonic rubbed at the back of his neck. He looked down with his head held low, now really worried at what his Uncle would say next.

"I just think, with all these problems you've been having lately, maybe it would be a good idea if you were home Schooled for a bit."

"What?" Sonic breathed out, his eyes wide and lips parted. Chuck rose his hands up, wanting to make sure the teen stayed calm, "Look I know what you're going to say, but I'm not asking you to make a choice now, I just want you to think about it. Go to School today and see how the day is, if everything is okay and you think you can manage then stay, but Sonic I am so worried about you!" he squeezed the hand he held tightly, and for the first time Sonic really sure the desperation that the older man felt.

"I don't want to get another call saying you tried to kill yourself."

His breath started to tremble as he leaned himself forward, placing his head onto his Uncle's chest.

"Just think about it" the older man said, wrapping his arms around and giving him one final hold before letting the hedgehog go.

The teen watched him leave the room, now feeling the space was too cold and empty. He stared down at his wrist, it was covered by his long sleeve, but rolling it back he revealed the newly fresh scars that covered the old ones. Yesterday had been such a blur he hadn't remembered doing that until now.

His mind raced with the ideas his Uncle put through his head. He had so much to think about when it came to Tails that it made him burn up, he couldn't face it right now. He couldn't face anything right now.

He didn't want to go to School but he didn't want to be home taught… he just… he didn't…

Shooting out of bed, Sonic ran to his bathroom, his stomach churning one too many times for him to keep it inside.

* * *

Amy Rose paced across the School yard, her short temper being shown clearly as she reached the girl she was looking for.

Rouge had been standing alone, doing something on her phone before she looked up to see the young girl marching up to her, "Hey Pinkie, great job on the bruise idea by the way. Now after yesterday's little drama the word is the whole believes Sonic's a girl abuser. The rumours are spreading like fire!" she cheered happily.

But everything changed when Amy stopped in front of her, her hand drawn back and lashing across the unsuspecting bat's face with a loud clap!

Rouge stumbled for a moment, holding her check as she stared at the girl with wide eyes.

"I quit! I'm not doing it anymore! You promised me no one would get hurt!" she screamed loudly, tears streaming down her eyes.

No one was around them at this point, and those who were close fortunately hadn't noticed. Lucky for Amy because if she hadn't cared about being noticed she'd of kicked her to the ground.

"Okay I'm going to let that slide for now, try a move like that again and you'll be the one in the mud" Rouge threatened, but Amy no longer cared.

"You planted that book on Tails! You framed him for hacking Sonic's account!"

"Yeah and look how that turned out! Better Tails then us. Beside that kid got what he deserved, he was stupid enough to steal the diary in the first place!" the bat shrugged carelessly, "Besides I didn't see you standing up for him. And when you tried Sonic threw you into a locker, if anything the rumours are going around because of you now."

"No! You manipulated me! You made me think that was the only way to move on was to get revenge, and I was okay with that! But you let Tails get hurt, you knew that Sonic would go crazy and you still let him take the blame!" Amy pointed at her accusingly.

For a moment Rouge said nothing, she just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at the younger girl, showing how little she really cared.

"I'm not doing it anymore. I'm deleting the SpaceBook account and breaking up with Sonic. I can't mess around with his life anymore, even if he does deserve it. I'm not going to be like him and turn into the bully that bullied me" the girl declared, finally putting her foot down. She turned her back and walked away, leaving Rouge to watch her go.

She only stopped when she heard the cold threatening voice shout out to her afterwards, "You go ahead Rosey, throw your life away because hell knows once you break up with Sonic no one will care about you anymore! I certainly don't need you anymore, I can take things from her all by myself thank you. See you around _Nobody_"

With a small gasp Amy turned around, tears falling from her eyes, but there was no one there. The bat girl was gone from sight.

She folded her arms around her stomach, feeling like she really needed someone to hold her right now.

* * *

Pushing her way past people, Rouge snarled to herself and absently rubbed at her cheek. She could have so easily hit her back, she could have ripped her apart, but being seen doing that was the last thing she wanted. It might have ruined stealth and she for the first time she wanted to be as unnoticeable as possible.

Finding her targets, the two girls sat by the tree on the School yard, no doubt talking about the blue blur as it seemed that was the only thing anyone could think about.

Making sure no one they knew was around, Rouge approached the two girls.

"Mina, Bunny" she said smoothly. They looked up to see her stood with a hand on her perfectly curved hip and knowledgeable smile upon her muzzle. This normally meant she had news.

"Rouge, what's up?" Mina asked, sitting herself up to ease the pain her neck felt from looking up. It didn't last long as the bat girl sat down in front of the two, getting as close as she could, "Oh nothing much, I'm guessing you heard the news about yesterday?"

"With Sonic? Who hasn't? I told you, he's completely lost it. He landed Tails in the Hospital" Bunny spat, happy to have her input on the matter, "Not only that but we said it from the start that Sonic was abusing Amy, and yesterday I heard he threw her into a locker and she passed out!"

"Really? I heard he slapped her in front of everyone and threatened to kill her if she spoke to him again" Mina questioned. Rouge slowly raised her brow, it seemed like there were a lot of different versions going around.

"Oh he hit her alright, the poor girl keeps denying it but he really did a number on her. She can't stand up for herself, it's sad really" Rouge pretended to sympathise, closing her eyes and pouting sadly.

"We better be careful though, Sonic might come at her again in lunch time when he sees her, after all she has taken Sally's place. How's the Princess doing with all this by the way?" she had to hide any trace of joy from her voice, even though all she wanted to do was grin.

The girls looked at each other, "She's not taking it great. I think she's changing Schools… she can't bear the thought of facing him again" one of them answered. Rouge nodded at the answer, quietly happy to hear it.

"Well whatever, she obviously didn't care enough to stay for us. Anyway you don't need to worry about Amy, if Sonic thinks he can sit with us at lunch and expect things to go back to normal he's got another thing coming. After all what can he do? Especially now we all know about Shadow" Bunny said slyly, enjoying the new piece of information just as much as everyone else was.

"What's that now?" Rouge asked, even though she already knew.

"It's going around the whole School. Sonic was like untouchable, no one ever stood up to him because we all thought he was too powerful. Now though, finding out that he used to be bullied by this other kid, guess he's not as tough as he made himself out to be" she grinned again.

"Oh sweetie, I could have told you that" the bat girl laughed.

Mina suddenly pipped up as a thought came to her, "Wait Sonic might not be at lunch, he's got detention like every day now."

Rouge smiled wide, they were making this almost too easy for her, "Speaking of which, that's what I wanted to talk to you girls about. I have a new little piece of gossip for you" she taunted them with. Both girls looked at her excitedly, like they were kids and she was waving candy in their faces.

"Well has it ever crossed your mind before that if Sonic has detention, doesn't he normally skip them?" she started, but the girls didn't click on to it.

"All I'm saying is he and Mrs. Winters are spending a lot of time with each other lately, he never misses a detention and he's always shy around her now… Almost nervous even."

It started to slowly click now, "Hey you're right. When we've seen him in Science class apparently he's constantly avoiding her, he doesn't insult her now or anything like he used to… Wait you think something's going on between them?" Mina asked. They both looked at the bat, waiting for the answer.

"Well if he's suddenly got a new… admiration for her. Listen I'm not saying anything, but it seems a bit odd that after Sally broke up with him he went for the School Stalker, a girl he swore he'd rather eat his own feet then be with." Upon her words their eyes grew wide as it started to hit them.

"I mean she suddenly got dressed up after he made that comment about her being old and ugly. Maybe she got the reaction she was looking for. Who knows what's going on behind those closed doors… and the loud music she plays all the time" and that was all she needed to say.

Rouge watched the two girls with a sinister smile as they drowned each other out with the new pieces of information. She stood up and left the two of them to it, knowing she had done her part.

"Oh my gosh Sonic and Mrs. Winters are sleeping together!" was the instant conclusion.

"That's why he's there all the time! That must be why he kept trying to get himself in trouble so he could be with her! I bet he asked for her to be the one he has detention with!"

"Should we tell Robotnik? I mean isn't it against the rules or something?"

"No we can't, Mrs. Winters could lose her job. Oh my gosh what is Sonic is abusing her as well? Like with Amy?" Bunny instantly gasped, "Do you think he's forcing Amy as well?"

"No… no he… I don't know. Come on we got to tell the others!"

* * *

**So Amy finally stands up for herself, but things aren't looking too great for Sonic now...  
**

**Please leave a review and a new chapter will be up soon :)**


	27. The School Day Of Hell

**Well let's face it, I couldn't leave this chapter unwriten for days after how quickly you guys reviewed :D**

**I was litrally blown away with the amount of reviews I got in one night, thank you guys so much!**

**As a thank you, another very big moment happens in this chapter, and I'm going to warn you it get's REALLY intense at the end. But it is vital to the story, so please bare with.**

**If you hate Mrs. Winters now, oh boy are you gonna hate her later.**

**Just for everyone to know, I spent ages working on this chapter as I had tried to break it into two parts, but it got really confusing as to what went where and why and I think I ended up cutting out a few bits I wanted to add in.**

**But whatever, it's done Woop!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

_"You guys we're telling you, Sonic is messing around with Mrs. Winters! Of course I'm telling the truth, I heard it from Bunny."_

_"The reason Sonic is in detention so much is because all this time he and Mrs. Winters have been having an affair. Don't tell anyone."_

_"Oh my gosh, what I've heard is that the thing Tails was going to say just before Sonic threw him through a wall was that Sonic was sleeping with Mrs. Winters. How crazy is that?"_

_"He's totally forcing her, he has to be! I study with Mrs. W and she is really nice, there is no way she would do something like that. He's under sixteen, you have any idea how bad that would look?"_

_"Apparently Amy knows but she's too scared of him to say anything. That was why Sally dump him! He wasn't cheating with Amy… It was the Teacher!"_

_"Dude he like always used to tell her to be more sexy, you see the way she dresses now? Those two are totally doing it together!"_

_"Sonic has some serious issues. He's forcing a teacher to be with him!"_

* * *

The first lesson Sonic had was math. He had tried to arrive at the School as late as possible, really not knowing what to expect.

He was only five minutes late, but now he wished he had been the first one to arrive.

Closing the door behind him, he was met with the condemnatory glare from pretty much everyone. All his class mates had stopped talking the moment he made himself known, each one reviling him with complete disgust.

Sonic didn't know what to do. He couldn't bring himself to pull off his famous I-don't-care smile. He hardly walked with confidence, and he was pretty sure they could all see him trembling a little.

Taking a deep breath to calm his uneasiness, Sonic looked over to his usual seat next to Silver, or as of late Tails, but to his dismay the white hedgehog sat where he normally would, with Blaze sat right by his side. All the other chairs around them had been taken up as well, when normally Silver would save one for him.

The white hedgehog didn't look at him, he just kept his head turned away. Blaze said everything for him instead. The moment he made eye contact with her she snarled and flipped him the birdy, much to the amusement of everyone in the classroom.

Taking the hint, for the first time Sonic didn't argue. Instead he slyly walked down the row of desks until he was all the way to the back and took the Loser Chair as everyone had liked to call it. The desk that was in the corner of the wall, and was the only one that sat by itself, it was also the seat Tails normally sat at, but looking around and seeing no other desk was available, and the joined ones that were students had purposely placed their bags on them, Sonic had no choice but to sit down.

Placing his bag under the desk, he felt his insides become restless as everyone made a point of turning around just to stare at him now. Instantly he felt subconscious and it made him lightly rub at his wounded arm. His cheeks grew a hot red and he felt the twisting sensation grow through his stomach.

"Sorry I'm late class" the cheerful voice called out as a young woman walked through the classroom door with a stack of paper in her arms. It seemed to be the only thing that made them all stop staring at him.

"It's okay Miss, we we're just keeping an eye on Sonic to make sure he didn't kill anyone."

Hearing the comment, Sonic quickened his breathing as the sound of sneering laughter reached his ears. He instantly placed a hand to his head, wanting nothing more than to disappear.

"Alright that's enough. Let's leave the events of yesterday out of the classroom please. I'm sure the matter was dealt with I want no distractions" the teacher told them all, though she sounded almost robotic in the way she spoke, like she knew it was what she had to say.

"Sorry Miss, but out of curiosity how thick are the walls?" a different student called out, earning more harsh-felt laughter.

"Oh chaos" Sonic cursed distraughtly. He placed his other hand to his head, trying to hide his face. His chest fell up and down rapidly.

The teacher simply stood with her hand on her hips, given them all a scolding look, "Now what did I just say?"

But they hardly listened. At this point it soon turned into a group discussion.

"Sorry Ma'am. Oh by the way, everyone check to make sure you still have your shoes!"

"Dude shut up, he might put you into the Hospital too."

"Or knock you out, or do you have to date him for that?"

"Don't say that, you'll be the next target in his line of girlfriends."

"Nah I'm not old enough."

The teacher threw her arms into the air feeling frustrated that they had done the complete opposite of what she wanted. In all honesty she had dreaded this lesson, fearing that this would happen.

Looking over to the hedgehog that was left to the mercy of this ridicule, she noticed that while everyone was laughing and joking around, he sat at his desk in the back with his face buried into his arms.

It made her feel pity towards him, even though she had seen first-hand just how horrible he could be when not getting his own way.

She walked away from her desk and made her way towards the blue hedgehog. She knew it would be drawing attention, but she had a duty to make sure he was okay.

When she was there he hardly flinched, even when she bent down so her face was closer to his. "Sonic, are you okay?" she tried to whisper so only he could hear.

"Whoa Miss don't get so close, he might hit ya" the lad nearby shouted. "Or get her pregnant" the girl beside him added on.

"Right enough with that! Everyone get your books out and continue on from last lesson" she snapped at them, not happy with the way they were behaving.

Turning back to the hedgehog at hand, she still had yet to get a response. Pulling out his bag, she opened it and pulled out the math book. She opened it to the middle and stood it up on the side of his desk, using her hand to hold it in place, so that she and her student had some form of privacy.

"Sonic, look at me" she said, shaking his arm slightly. There was still no response from him though, "Sonic" she tried once again, now pulling his arm out gently so he would have to move.

It worked as he finally looked up at her. His face was bright red and puffy while a deep unsettling frown replaced his normal uncaring smile she was used to. His eyes were irritated and she knew by the way his shoulders started to tremble and his hitched breathing pattern that he was trying so hard not to break down into tears.

He tried to put his head back down, too ashamed that he was behaving like this.

"Sonic why don't you take five minutes, go get a drink" she suggested.

Sonic didn't need telling twice. He darted up from his chair, which scrapped the floor loudly when he did so, and hurried out of the classroom, doing everything to cover his face. Clearly though it hadn't of worked as the kids pointed at him with hilarity "Is he crying? Oh my gosh he is not crying is he? Miss tell us if he was crying or not!"

"He was totally in tears! He's so lame, I can't believe we ever thought he was cool."

* * *

Chuck paced around Sonic's room absentmindedly, picking up the scattered items that really should have been put away in their proper places by now. He made sure everything looked neat and organised on the shelves, on the computer desk and wiped down all the surfaces. Despite the fact his nephew only wore one pair of shoes, he still tried on all his others before throwing them around the room, uncaring that they were no longer back in their original places.

It was a habit that got on Chuck's nerves a lot as he picked up all the shoes and placed them back where they all belonged.

Next job was making the bed, and of course he had to get Sonic a double bed just to make his job harder. The elder hedgehog picked up the diary that Sonic had left on his pillow, and placed it into the draw the teen said he normally kept it. The medical journal wasn't inside it this time, Chuck had decided to keep that with him just in case, along with the password book.

Maybe it was his over protectiveness that led to all this, but he hated social network sites so much and the story Sonic told him only proved true as to why.

Straightening the bedding out as bed as he could, Chuck couldn't get Sonic out of his head. He was so worried about him being at that School, part of him thought that maybe he should drive down to see if he was okay, but even he knew that was a bad idea.

He really wished he hadn't sent him to School now though, the feeling of something bad happening was eating him alive, and he wasn't sure if he could last for the next five hours without hearing from him.

Chuck shook his head with a small sigh. He knew he was too soft on the boy, he treated him like a child most of the time but it was hard not to. He only wanted Sonic to be happy.

The older hedgehog looked around the now tidy and organised room, pleased with himself that it no longer looked like a bomb sight. The only thing he had left to do was take out the trash on his way out.

Reaching down to the small waist bin by the side of the bed, Chuck picked up the side handles and lifted the bag out the basket, but before he tied it up, something caught his eye.

Curiously, he reached inside and picked up what looked like a brown capsule, and inside filled to the brim were lots of small tablets. Looking at the label, he read the words ANTI-DEPRESSENTS.

"Sonic!" he groaned furiously, completely annoyed at the lack of caring his nephew had for his own health. Chuck sat down on the newly made bed and he stared at the medication in his hand, unable to comprehend what the teenager had done.

Why would he throw them away? It just didn't make sense to him.

His thoughts were interrupted as the phone rang throughout the house. Chuck's first thought was to ignore it, but it might have been important. So he made his way back down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, taking a hold of the phone and answering it politely.

"_Hello, is this Sir. Charles?_" the unpleasant voice asked harshly.

"Yes, whose this?"

"_I'm Miles's mother, and there are a few things I would like to say regarding your nephew._"

* * *

"Watch it you creep" a hard voice cried out as the looming body of a bigger student bumped his shoulder painfully past Sonic, the hedgehog clutching the area while watching as he walked off. Sonic stared after him in complete disbelief.

"What the hell is going on?" he breathed lowly to himself.

The whole morning he had received the same treatment from everyone. Not just his class mates, _everyone!_ Students pushed past him, no one moved out of his way. Girls he would normally wink at, sending them into a fainting party, now gave him a dirty look when he met their eyes and scoffed at him viciously. The nerds that tried to suck up to him laughed when he passed them, and even the cool people that wanted to be his friend publicly humiliated him.

He had only been into a couple of classes at this point of the day, and the insults and comments became worse with each lesson.

Sonic just wanted to get to his locker, he didn't care about anything else, he just wanted to get to his locker in piece. Yet as he walked down the hallway, he heard all the laughing that only appeared when he showed up. He held his head down and tried to ignore everyone, but it didn't make it any easier. His chest actually felt like there was a rubber band around it, he was so anxious.

"Yo Sonic, look out for the tidal wave!"

He didn't have much time to see it, but when Sonic looked up he was met with an explosion of water being splashed upon him, and in an instinct he yelped out and jumped back, having a fear of water.

The whole body of students around him pointed and laughed at the trembling hedgehog as he wiped the water from his face. All Sonic could hear was the mechanical drill of laughter that drowned out every thought he had. He spun around to face them all, but there were too many people around for him to stay in one place.

Sonic's eyes lay upon the guy that threw the water. It was the Gorilla boy he had shown up in the lunch room not so long ago.

"Dude what you go and wet yourself for? Shadow's not here!" the Gorilla shouted out, his friends slapping him on the back and pointing at the hedgehog. Others took photos and shouted out their own taunts and jokes.

Sonic looked down at himself, his cheeks flushing a bright red.

He wanted to fight, but he couldn't. He had been like this the moment he stepped onto the School grounds. He couldn't move his legs or ball up his fists, or couldn't snarl or think of any witty comeback. Because for the first time he wasn't angry, he was afraid.

No… he was petrified.

Wincing in his own despair, Sonic ran away from the looming crowd, unfortunately hearing them call him a cowered and to own up to his punishments.

Sonic kept his eyes closed tight, not feeling he was able to handle it anymore.

He only stopped when he was at his locker. He leaned against its solid frame before placing a hand on his heart, struggling to catch his breath.

Looking around there were still plenty of students watching him, the not so quiet whispers sounding throughout as everyone made a point to avoid him and acting like he carried a disease.

Sonic had to look away from them. He really, _really_, struggled to handle this again. It was just like being back in elementary School, there was no difference.

Looking around just for a moment, he paused when his eyes laid upon the sweet pink that he knew too well. "Amy?" He mumbled under his breath. Pushing himself up he walked towards her. It felt like his stomach was eating him alive at this point but he knew he had to see her. It was okay though, Amy loved him no matter what, he could rely on her to not turn him away, right?

Coming to her side, the girl hadn't seen him. Sonic placed a soft hand on her shoulder, "Hey" he tried to smile, but it looked more pitiful than anything else.

Amy suddenly became aware of him standing at her side, and for a moment she shuddered under his touch as she worried over why he was speaking to her, "H-hi" she replied awkwardly.

"Umm Amy…" she could see that something was up with him. It was easy to tell by his trembling hands and shortness of breath, but most of all he looked like he could break down at any moment. "Look… I just want to say sorry. I-I didn't mean to hurt you, I just really struggle with my temper sometimes… and you didn't deserve it… any of it. You deserve better then what I put you through… You deserve someone better than me. I'm sorry."

She froze. Amy felt tears sting at the bottom of her eyes as the smallest of smiles crept onto her face. Never once had Sonic ever apologised to her about anything. He put her through a lot and always brushed it to the side. Yet here he was, looking at her with the most sincerity she had ever seen from him and had said the words she had wanted to hear from him more than she had realised in the past few weeks.

Was that all she really wanted this whole time? Just for him to tell her he was sorry for everything he did?

She hadn't realised how much it would have meant to her, but now she felt she saw a glimpse of the Sonic she dreamed about, the boy she thought she had imagined. All she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and never let go.

"Oh Sonic, you have no idea how much I wanted to hear that…"

"Sonic the Hedgehog, detention, now!" an eerie voice called out. Looking to his side, Sonic's eyes laid upon the Science teacher who stood in the door way of the classroom. Her hand was firm on the door handle, ready to close it tight.

With a cold look in her eyes, she hadn't needed to say anything before Sonic knew what was expected of him.

Looking over to the young girl beside him, he saw that she looked completely oblivious at the silent commandments Mrs. Winters was sending. With a small final apology Sonic left her side, going into her classroom before Mrs. Winters shut the door behind them with a sharp slam.

Amy stared at the now closed door, so many thoughts were parading through her mind that she struggled to settle with just one. Placing a hand to her head, she had to shake the oncoming headache. Absentmindedly she looked around. There were a lot of fellow students around, and much to her surprised they all looked like they had been watching her and Sonic talking.

She felt like she was in a spotlight all of a sudden. The looming eyes staring at her like they were waiting for a show. Only it wasn't so much her they were looking at, but it was the classroom Sonic had just went into. A lot of whispering soon followed.

Sadly and lonely, Amy picked up her back from the bottom of her locker, placed it on her back and tried to walk to her next lesson. She was stopped shot though as she felt another hand grab onto her arm.

With a startled exclamation, she spun around only to lay eyes upon Jet… Jet of all people?

He wasn't alone though. Silver, Mina and Bunny were stood with him. They all stared down at her, looking a little patronising as if they would start an intervention.

"Hey Pinkie, how you feeling after yesterday?" Jet greeted, though he didn't sound as concerned as his words would suggest.

Amy looked at them for a moment, feeling a little reluctant to stay and talk, "I'm okay now… it was just a bump" she tried to say casually, pulling her arm out of Jet's grip.

"Yeah great, so we saw you talking to Sonic just now, what did he tell you?"

Amy stared at the hawk with wide eyes, feeling intimidated by his forth coming. She looked up at the girls who stood beside him, but they were waiting for an answer as well. "Umm nothing really, just that he was sorry…"

She had no time to finish before Bunny groaned loudly, "Oh that's so typical of him. Realises he can't get his own way so picks on the weak ones to make himself feel better" she sneered.

"Hey I am not weak!"

Silver shook his head, "Guys come on, that's not why we're here. Amy listen, we just want to warn you, Sonic's clearly not stable at the moment and we're worried about you staying with him" he spoke kindly.

Amy felt at loss for words, but someone else spoke for her, "Really Silver? He's unstable? I told you he's insane! He isn't just abusive, he might actually murder someone. Amy tell me where he is and I'll deal with him for you" Jet offered, thinking he was being the hero.

The pink hedgehog gasped, "No! Look I appreciate your concern but I'm okay. I was planning on breaking up with Sonic anyway, but please let me do it" she tried to reason, really praying they would listen.

Each member of the small group swapped glances at each other, like it was a silent debate on whether to agree or not. They didn't really look too impressed though, "Amy where did he go?"

With a small sigh Amy pointed to the classroom across the hall, "In Mrs. Winters classroom" she admitted, hoping they'd realise he was out of reach for the moment.

For some reason however, this only made them look worse.

"He's with the teacher now? Alone?" Mina asked. She and Bunny stared at each other for a moment before a wide spread grin crept onto their faces. With a small bit of laughter they bolted towards the classroom door.

The only thing that stopped them from getting close was Silver as he rushed out to block their way, "Whoa hey no!" he cried out, not letting either of them pass. "Oh come on Silver, don't you want to see if the rumours are true?"

"No, because that's all they are, just rumours! Just leave it alone, it's obvious that there's no way Mrs. Winters would do something like that. Besides she hates Sonic."

"But Silver he's-"

"No I said leave it!" the white hedgehog said forcefully, making his final stand.

"Gee since when did you turn into Knuckles. The dude is off for one day and you're taking his place?"

Due to the whole commotion, no one noticed the pink hedgehog slip away.

* * *

Inside the classroom Sonic sat down on the front desk, his arms wrapped tight around his stomach while his head was dropped low.

Opposite him and not so far away, Mrs. Winters stood in front of her own desk. As always she remained emotionless with her hands held across her lap. She stared at him coldly, and he had no idea what she was going to do at this point.

"So I heard you've had quite a morning" she smiled, with enough sedition to make her voice drip with venom.

Sonic breathed deeply, only now looking at her "I guess" was all he said.

She nodded, her lips pushed and a light chuckle leaving her throat, "Well it doesn't surprise me. You certainly made an impression on everyone after yesterday" she chimed.

Sonic looked down.

"I baffles me though, you're Sonic the Hedgehog aren't you? Why don't you just beat them all up? Everyone whose said anything to you today, just kick them down. It's what you normally do isn't it?" she mocked him, holding her arms up high and using plenty of gestures. Sonic didn't move.

"What are you suddenly not strong enough? Is it because you really don't care?" she started to laugh, "Oh no, what am I saying, your problem is that you care too much. Everyone has to like you, and if they don't like you then they must fear you. Because how else will you stop people from bullying you."

Sonic couldn't look at her, but her icy voice sent shivers through his whole body, showing her that she hit a soft spot.

"How did it work out for you Sonic? Are you happy with yourself? After all you were just putting Tails in his place, weren't you? And you have no idea why the whole School isn't falling into submission. So why aren't you fighting them now Sonic?"

She waited a moment, leaving him to respond. He didn't though. He shut his eyes tightly and kept his head down, wanting her to leave him alone and for this to be over as soon as possible.

"You can't fight back anymore, because you know that you'd never be able to take them all. You can't fight just one person because you're afraid. You're nothing but a coward, you always have been. That's why you did what you did, why you resorted to your smart mouth and lashed out at any little thing, because you were too afraid that someone might have been right about you, and you couldn't bear to hear it. That's why you can't fight me" she said dauntingly, looming over him and looking as threatening as he dreamt her to be.

Sonic's breath hitched in his throat, a small bead of sweat fall from his forehead as he trembled under her stare. Her black piercing eyes that boiled through his, and he couldn't look at her anymore.

Because she was right, he was afraid.

She smiled darkly to herself, knowing he was in the state of mind she wanted him to be. "But anyway, that's not what the whole School is talking about at the moment is it?" she shrugged, exaggerating the fact she had moved on, "In fact, you know it was funny, but I got several emails through class this morning from different teachers, and one from Robotnik as well. A new rumour going around apparently" she leaned back onto her desk, thinking off into the air for a moment.

All of it was sarcastic and Sonic knew it, but watched her now, worried about what she was talking about.

"It's a bit of an odd rumour I must admit, one I found a bit strange" her voice trailed off, leaving Sonic clueless as to what she was talking about. But he never said a word; he remained silent so far as the day had taken a toll on him already.

Mrs. Winters looked up at the giant clock above the door. She stared at it for a moment, causing Sonic to look as well as he truly had no idea what was going on.

"It must be pretty busy out there now, a lot of students and teachers walking pass my door everyday… Let's find out shall we?"

From her supposed relaxed compose position, Mrs. Winters pushed herself forward and grabbed Sonic by his arms, forcing him up from the desk he sat on.

"What are you doing?!" he cried out as she dragged him to the door, Sonic being in too much of an emotional state to pull away from her.

He yelped lowly as she slammed his back against the door, pinning him down by his shoulders which she often did.

But this wasn't normal though. Mrs. Winters never did anything without locking the door, or playing her music, or closing the blinds. This was something completely different and that thought alone terrified him.

"What's going on?" he cried again, feeling his heart struggle to beat in a solid rhythm as his mind grew hysterical.

Mrs. Winters simply shushed him deviously, placing a finger to his lips and silencing him with nothing but fear.

The smile on her face grew wider as her brow furrowed sinisterly. Knowing he was paralysed on the spot, she took a hold of his hand.

Sonic didn't understand as she held his hand up to his face for him to see. She wanted to show him the tools she would be using.

His eyes grew wide and a stifled gasp left his throat when she slide his hand under her blouse, forcing him to lay it upon her breast in an inappropriate manner. "No!" he shouted before pulling his hand away, but she forced it back into place.

She grabbed onto the loose material on his collar and she pulled herself down, crashing her lips onto his.

His eyes dilated wide as panic shot through his mind like alarm bells. She played with his tongue and he had no idea what to do. He couldn't move, his body was too stiff. It wasn't real, it couldn't have been.

The door he was forced to lean upon must have been opened, because in the one moment he leaned against a solid form, the next he and his teacher were stumbling backwards, into the open space of the hall way.

The strong hands that pinned him down suddenly pushed him down to the floor, and the lips that forced themselves onto his now screamed out in horror.

Mrs. Winters wiped at her mouth as tears instantly fell from her eyes, "You horrible little Monster!" she screamed out hysterically, pulling down her top as her bra had been exposed, "Don't you ever come near me ever again!"

With the final cry she threw her head into her hands and wept bitterly. She ran back into her classroom and slammed the door behind.

Sonic panted deeply, staring at the door from his position on the floor.

His mind hadn't registered anything as the racing of his heart sounded throughout his ears.

He hadn't understand what had just happened, what had gone on… but he started to hear voices… and suddenly it clicked into his mind where he was.

Sonic looked around, his eyes growing wide in a numbing horror as he saw the abnormally large crowd of students, all crowding around at him, all staring at him with scandalised conviction.

They all saw him with Mrs. Winters… He looked down at his hand, now fully realising what she had done.

He ran.

He didn't care about the perverted accusations they shouted at him, the threats they gave him or the things they threw. He didn't stop for anything.

Using the speed that he only had left, he ran as far away from the School and he never dared to look back.


	28. The Truth

**Okay people it's the chapter you've all been waiting for!**

**I just want to say, I was litrally blown away with the amount of reviewsassurrerom the last chapter, I mean it hasn't even been a week and I got 18 reviews on just one chapter?**

**Seriously, thank you all so so much! This has made my motivation for this story blow out the roof!**

**I just wonder how everyone is going to react to this chapter. I will admit I struggled writing this one, a lot of emotional stuff, it's hard finding the right terms to use. **

**But if you guys like it then it's worth it :)**

**Shout out to Ally Kenshin, I got a review from her sister Rocket Diver saying she recommended the story to her, so thank you so much! I can't belive people are recommending this story, it's just an awesome feeling. I really hope this chapter is worth it guys, you've all been awesome so thank you.**

**On with the chapter :D**

* * *

Sitting downstairs on the living room sofa, Chuck held the house phone to his ear and listened as it rang repeatedly.

"Hello, this is Sir. Charles the Hedgehog, is it possible to speak with Dr. Kintobor please? … Thank you… Hello? Hello Dr. Kintobor, this is Sonic's Uncle. I know he had an appointment with you yesterday and I just wanted to know if he had attended or not… He hadn't? I see… I'm very sorry, I'll have a word with him and we'll look at rescheduling, thank you."

He put the phone down and stared at it in his hands, like it was the thing responsible for giving him the information he was hoping not to hear.

On the table was the medication he had rescued from Sonic's bin. He looked at it a few times before looking back at the phone, not sure what to make of the situation.

What worried him the most was the conversation he had with Mrs. Prower earlier on. He couldn't stop thinking about it.

_My boy told me everything that little demon did!_

_He threw him through the wall…_

_Miles would never do anything so vicious to him, all he wanted was for them to be friends!_

_Sonic could have killed him!_

Chuck had tried to argue with her and defend his nephew but the more she ranted on, the more he had to stop and listen.

Now he was so confused. Robotnik had told him it had all been a misunderstanding that it ended up the way it did due to an unforeseeable accident. The boy's mother had told him a completely different story though.

He knew he needed to speak to Sonic when he came home. He needed to ask him for his side of the story and hopefully he would get the truth.

Unexpected he heard the front door slam open forcefully.

He stood up from the sofa, the phone dropping from his hands as he felt momentarily stunned, not being prepared for anyone visiting.

No sooner did he see Sonic standing by the living room door way, panting and wheezing while his eyes scanned around in a desperate attempt to search for something.

"Sonic? What are you doing home so early from School?" Chuck asked while looking at the clock to make sure the time was right.

He had prepared a lot of questions to ask the teen for when he saw him, but now they had all in a sudden moment disappeared as Sonic ran to him, forcing his arms around the older man's torso and burying his head deep into his fur, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Sonic? Whoa hey what's wrong?" Chuck questioned, instantly frowning and placing his hands onto Sonic's shoulders, only feeling worried for him now. "Sonic please, tell me what's going on."

"I can't do it anymore!" the teen's broken trembling voice cried out, followed by a despairing groan as he held his Uncle as tight as he possibly could, nearly breaking the man's bones.

Sonic pushed his head up, trying to look the concerned older man in the eyes, but he wept so much he could hardly stand up straight without a stabbing pain slicing through his stomach. "I-I can't… It was her! It was her this whole time! She did this to me, a-all the s-self harming… it was her!" he wailed out unbearingly , pushing himself out of his Uncle's arms and turning his back.

With his hands clutched around his stomach, tears fell past his face and down his arms as he wept. His Uncle rushed to him, fretting as he held onto his shoulders and tried to get him to be composed, "Calm down, it's okay, just take a breath and tell me what's going on…"

"No!" Sonic pushed his Uncle away, "I don't want to lie anymore… I can't do it, please… please Chuck, I want to be home schooled. I don't want to go back, please don't make me go back!" he threw his head into his hands, covering his face while his breath hitched uneasily to the point he was hyperventilating, "…p-please…"

Chuck was at a loss of what to do. He had never seen Sonic this hysterical before.

"Sonic tell me what's going on" he spoke firmly, realising it was the only way he could deal with him.

With a sharp cry Sonic threw himself back into his Uncle's arms, not able to cope standing on his own.

"M-Mrs. Winters… S-she's the one who's been h-hurting me… She threw me against the wall… S-she burned me and tied me down, and hit me several times… she lied about me hanging myself! All the self-harming, I never did it! I didn't do any of it, she lied about everything… All the bruises I have are from her! Every detention she did something to hurt me… and she kept telling me that I deserved everything I got!" he finally confessed.

The reality of everything that had happened to him suddenly hit him hard and he fell to the floor, slipping away from his Uncle.

He covered his mouth with his hand, clenching his eyes tightly as the tears flowed like a river.

Sonic felt two hands cup around his cheeks, and opening his eyes he looked sorrowfully at the older man that knelled in front of him. This time though Chuck wasn't playing soft. "Why didn't you tell me this before?!" he shouted frantically, almost shaking the teen in his hold. Sonic sobbed loudly, weakly clutching Chuck's arms and shaking his head, "I-I'm s-sorry" he stuttered.

Chuck felt his heart begin to race, "Sonic for goodness sake what were you thinking? What possible reason could you have for not telling me this?" he felt his own tears form at the brim of his eyes, but he did everything to keep them from falling. He knew he had to be strong now, not for himself but for his nephew.

Sonic kept trying to put his head down, struggling to breathe none-the-less talk, but Chuck kept him still, jolting him lightly as an urge to reply, "Sonic!" he would beckon.

With a sharp gasp for air, the blue fifteen year old cringed despondently, "R-Robotnik… told me not too…"

"Robotnik? Robotnik knew about this?!" The Inventor felt his blood boil to an unbearable rate as the tip of his ears burned. A snarl soon formed at his lips as he stared angrily at the weeping boy in his arms.

He knew he must have been scaring the younger hedgehog, but he couldn't even pretend to be calm anymore. "I went to that School and I asked him directly to his face if he knew about what was going on, and he said no! He lied to me this whole time?"

Sonic said nothing, too frantic to answer the rhetorical question.

With a sudden movement, Chuck stood up. His brow furrowed low as he reached his limit. Reaching his hand down, he grabbed a hold of Sonic's arm and pulled the emotional teen up from the floor.

"That's does it. We are going down to that School right now, and I am giving that lying criminal a piece of my mind!" he shouted angrily, pulling Sonic along with him as he headed towards the door.

Sonic dug in his heels though and tried to bring the man to a halt, "NO! No Chuck please! I don't want to go back there. I just want to be home schooled and forget it ever happened, please I…"

"No. We're going down and we will get this dealt with. Then I promise you will never have to set foot in that building again!" Chuck assured him, stopping for only a moment to look him in the eyes to show how sincere he really was.

Sonic knew he didn't have a choice anymore… and he never had an opportunity to get that folder.

* * *

Sitting in the all too familiar office, Sonic wanted nothing more than to throw up everywhere. The idea of passing out was debated a lot, but he doubted it wouldn't do much now.

He sat on the same chair that he sat only a few weeks ago, his trembling arms crossed over while his head was downcast, being as quiet as possible as the 'grown ups' talked.

Next to him his Uncle stood, his fist pounding forcefully upon the wooden desk before him as he shouted furiously to the obese man that sat back in the Principal's chair, nursing his moustache in his hand while seemingly listening.

"- you lied! You knew this whole time what was going on and you protected her? You told my Nephew not to tell on her after all she had put him through, why? Were you afraid of how it would make the School look? Afraid that having a case like this would lower this Schools credibility? Sonic was being attacked, tortured! He was coming to School every day fearing his teacher, what student should have to put up with that? You and this sick twisted School will be hearing from the Police. I don't care what they do to you now, but trust me when I say that I am not going to rest until I see you and that demon of a teacher behind bars!"

Robotnik raised his hands into the air, swaying his head side to side in a minor way to calm things down between him and the heated hedgehog. "Charlie, Charlie, let's not get carried away here" he smiled.

Chuck pointed at him accusingly, his breathing getting sharp and agitated, "Don't talk down to me you Rotted Egg! I want to see Mrs. Winters right now!"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. I had to send her home early today due to an incident between her and that… nephew of yours" Robotnik objected, though he saw it made little difference. "Don't lie to me Robotnik!"

"I'm not. Perhaps Sonic left out the minor detail that he was seen by several students today sexually assaulting Mrs. Winters during detention. I already have a statement from her explaining in detail how Sonic had touched her inappropriately and went as far as forcibly kissing her before she defended herself."

Chuck stood still, his eyes widened and his open mouth only closing when he turned to look at the boy next to him.

Sonic looked fearingly. Shock and confusion over taking his mind as he glanced from his Uncle to his Principal, silently shaking his head to show it wasn't true.

The older hedgehog narrowed his eyes back at the larger man in front of him, "Lies." was all he said before crossing his arms, "Sonic wouldn't ever do something that horrible" he spoke pridefully, completely convinced in his words.

Nodding his head lightly, Robotnik held his hands together and twiddled his thumbs, "Well I'm glad you think so" he shrugged, "Lucky for you both she has agreed not to go to the Police about the matter, given Sonic's nature she understands he's not the most stable of boys."

Chuck paused for a moment, "What are you talking about?"

"Come now Charlie don't you think the whole story about the teacher abusing her student is a little... far out there? I mean Sonic does have a history of exaggerating the truth and we both know it."

The elder hedgehog looked down at his nephew; the poor boy was nearly hiding in his hands as he stared up woefully. "He is covered in scars and bruises, how could he have possibly made all that up?"

"Oh I don't deny it, I'm sure he is covered with scars and bruises, but I'm just saying if you opened your mind a little wider than the two inches it currently is, don't you think that maybe he could have gotten them from some of the other students? Maybe not even on School property. After all I'm sure a lot of the pupals at my School would all have their own special reasons for wanting a little payback… reasons I'm sure he's not told you about" the obese man taunted, a small grin forming under his large moustache.

Chuck stared at him, the wind completely taken from his lungs as he struggled to comprehend what Robotnik had said, "What are you taking about?"

With a glean in his glasses, Robotnik pushed himself up from his chair.

Sonic's heart stopped.

Robotnik walked to his filing cabinet and took out a large folder that Sonic knew too well. "Perhaps you would benefit from taking a look at this" he threw the file onto the desk. It spun along the top and stopped just in front of his Uncle.

He stared at it like it was poison ready to shoot at him. Everything he has ever done on School grounds is in that file. Every person he bullied, every crime he committed, everything that has ever been reported was all written down between those pages. Now his Uncle reached down his hand to open it.

Chuck jumped back as a loud slam echoed through the room. Looking down he saw his nephew's hand placed firmly on top of his, holding it forcefully onto the top of the file with a strong hold making him almost immobilised.

He looked at Sonic questionably. The teen only gazed back. His eyes wide and pleading, he bit down onto his lip as his chest raced franticly. He silently begged with his Uncle, pleading he wouldn't open that file.

For the first time, the elder hedgehog grew suspicious. With his spare hand he took a hold of Sonic's and prided the iron grip away, being sure to move the file out of his reach just before Sonic tried to snatch it away.

Sonic was unable to control himself anymore. He stood up from his chair and walked away from his Uncle, going to the other side of the room where he was as far away as possible. He leaned his head into the nook of the wall and wrapped his arms around himself.

Knowing he wasn't going to like what he was about to see, Chuck hesitated with the file in his arm. Eventually he placed it back down and he opened up the pages. They were all reports… accident and behaviour reports.

"What is this…" he mumbled to himself, picking it back up and holding the file closer to his eyes, re-reading the first page again and again, just in case he saw it wrong. He went through page after page, and the more he read the more reality became unreal to him.

"Sonic… What are these?" he turned his head towards the teen in the corner. Sonic slowly turned himself around, his eyes already drawn to the floor as he sniffed, feeling the lump get stuck in his throat.

Chuck looked back to the file, and he carried on reading through the pages.

Neither hedgehog noticed Robotnik sit back down, nor did they see the wide grin that spread across his sadistic face.

"… You broke a kid's leg?" Chuck shouted in a sudden burst of outrage.

Sonic felt his legs nearly give way as the booming of the older man's voice sent violent tremors running through his body. He only stared at his Uncle now as the hedgehog turned back to the file, reading out the different accounts as he came across them.

"Sonic… there a several reports of bullying! You threw people into lockers! You stole money from the teachers desk, you started fights with other students. You went around spitting on people?" Chuck cried out, completely disgusted at what he read. He turned back around to face the child in the corner, now staring at him like he was a completely different person. He turned another page, "Drugs? You were found with drugs in your bag? Sonic you're fifteen! What were you thinking?"

Sonic pushed his lips together, his eyes only closing for a moment as fresh tears fell down his muzzle. He trembled under his Uncle's disappointed glare, feeling the effects of a knife plunge through his chest. "I-I… It wasn't mine" was all he could say.

Chuck slowly melted, reality came crashing down and it hit him hard. Sonic in a way had confessed it was true… everything that was written in this file was true…

"You started rumours, you caused riots in this School and led to property damage, it even says you tried to burn down the School?!" he was horrified. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the Nephew he once thought had a heart of gold.

Sonic shook his head franticly, groaning with anguish "No! No that wasn't what happened! Mrs. Winters…"

"Why would you do this? Why Sonic?" Chuck cried out frustratedly. He ran his fingers through his quills and gripped at them, the growing anger and disappointment being evident as he became almost hysteric.

"I-I just… I don't understand! You're a good boy, you're a good kid, I can't… All this time you've been lying to me? You put Tails in the Hospital! And you assaulted Mrs. Winters and tried to blame her for everything?"

Sonic couldn't speak. His throat was too tight and his forehead drenched with sweat along with his burning face. He shook his head sorrowfully, sobbing quietly to himself as he felt helpless and lost. His Uncle was no longer on his side and he didn't know what to do.

At not getting an answer, Chuck felt his mind almost explode, " Who the hell are you?!" he spat out, throwing the folder down onto the desk, scaring the teen further.

Despite the uncomfortable tension in the air, Robotnik was far from discreet as he pulled out one of his side draws. The awkward scraping noise grabbed Chuck's attention as he narrowed his eyes at the bigger man once again.

Robotnik was unfazed as he held out a folded up letter to him, carrying on as if nothing was the matter, "That is a good question old friend, I happen to have the answer right here" he smiled.

"I'm not playing games anymore" Chuck snarled at him, but Robotnik pressed on, "Neither am I Charlie, I'd sit down before I read this if I were you" he pushed the letter up again. Raising his brow, he snatched it from the man's hand, not bothering to sit down as he unfolded the paper.

Sonic didn't know what was going on. He watched as his Uncle read the letter. He didn't know what was written on it, or what it was for, but he knew it wasn't going to be good.

Everything was an earie quiet. The only sound Sonic could hear was the thumping of his heart as it pulsed through his chest. He watched with dread as the older hedgehog continued to read through.

At the start Chuck had been furious and it was evifent, but now Sonic watched as the angered eyes traced across a sentence, and suddenly his Uncle gasped in complete horror and dismay, his hand cupping across his muzzel as he stared at the paper, eyes dilated and watery.

The older hedgehog fell down to the chair slowly, unable to look away from the words that he read again and again. They became a horror story to him as the paper fell from his hands to the floor. He was paralysed, staring into the distance of space as tears formed at the brim of his eyes.

Sonic pushed himself away from his safe corner. Filled with concern, he didn't think twice before walking up to his Uncle's side.

"Uncle Chuck?" he spoke quietly, his voice still shallow and sore. He slowly reached his hand out and placed it upon the older hedgehog's arm.

The touch was all he needed. Chuck slapped his hand away and stood up from his chair, being sure to keep enough distance from the teenager as he could.

Sonic gawped at him, tears falling from the rejection.

Chuck just stared back however, unable to comprehend who he was. His lips moved apart as he tried to speak, but his voice became stuck in his throat several times. "Y-you… you…" he shook his head, he couldn't bring his eyes away from the boy in front of him.

Sonic didn't know what to do, "Uncle Chuck…"

"No! Don't you dare…" The older hedgehog placed a hand to his unsteady heart and leant against the desk in front of him. He shook his head again and again; he just couldn't come to grip with it.

"You're not my Nephew…"

The words cut through deeper than any blade ever could. Sonic threw his hands to his lips, his eyes enlarged with horror as he stared at the older man. So much panic raced through him that he wanted to be sick. He wanted to grab a knife and end his life right here and now.

He prayed… every day for this moment to never come.

Sonic looked at Robotnik. The obese man was happy enough sitting at his desk and watch.

"You… you lied to me… all this time" Chuck breathed deeply, his mind despairing as he remained almost robotic. "You told me… you were my brother's son…"

Sonic couldn't handle the cold devastating glare anymore. He turned his head away and gripped onto his arms as forcefully as he could. Biting down hard onto his lip, he choked up as he knew this was the moment his life was going to be ruined forever… but he had to confess.

"In the orphanage… you were in the newspaper. Your brother was in the eulogy section. There was a picture of the both of you and I thought…" he paused, "I-I thought that because you looked like me I could convince you I was your nephew."

Sonic broke down into tears, sobbing uncontrollably into his hands.

Chuck fell back down to his chair, his head falling firmly into his opened palms. Repeatedly he struck his head against them in self-punishment, growling angrily to himself as his frustration and bitter sorrow ate him alive.

Sonic wouldn't stop crying, and for the first time Chuck had no desire in helping him. The more the fifteen year old sobbed, the more he felt anger consume him, picking away at every nerve he had until he couldn't take anymore.

Slamming his fist down onto the arm of his chair, Chuck pushed himself up, fury destroying any compassion he ever once felt. He ascended towards Sonic, glaring at the young boy as he darted towards him.

Sonic cried out fearfully and backed up as soon as the man was close. "No please don't! I'm sorry!" Before he could run away his fear got to him again and Chuck had no problem in snatching his arm and holding him close to his side with an iron grip, not caring about the pain it cause.

"You are coming back with me, and we will deal with this when we get home!" he spat out, not paying any heed to the Principal in the room or to the boy that tried to pride his grip from his arm as he walked to the door.

"Chuck please I'm sorry!" Sonic wailed out, bawling out his eyes and praying his Uncle would listen to him… just the way Tails did when he begged Sonic for a chance to explain also.


	29. Consequences

**Whoo I'm back! Probably shouldn't be so cheerful given the contents of this chapter, but hey, what you gonna do?**

**You guys are all just seriously so amazing, another butt load of reviews in one night! Thank you so much. **

**Reply to My Golden Wings, thank you so much for the review and if you read chapter 15 you see how Robotnik found out about Sonic. Actually tbh if you read a few of the recent chapters there were stuttle hints that Sonic was hiding this kind of secret. But it's hard to pick up on them when you're not in my mind and knowing everything that's going to happen lol.**

**Please leave a review and say what you would like to see happen next and I shall hopefully update soon.**

**Enjoy x**

* * *

After pulling up in the car, the door was once again slammed open as Chuck dragged Sonic inside by his arm. The teenager constantly tried to pull himself away and fight off the hold the older hedgehog had on him, but for once he wasn't giving in.

In all the years Sonic had known him his Uncle had never treated him like this before, he had never seen him this angry… but the situation was a lot different now.

Storming into the living room, Chuck practically threw Sonic into the centre of the room, the speedster tripping slightly before staring up at the older man.

"I'm sorry! Chuck please I didn't have a choice, I was desperate!" he cried out in frustration at not knowing what to do or say.

Chuck shook his head furiously in response, turning his back and crossing his arms. For the first time he felt too disgusted to even look at the boy he adopted.

Sonic gripped onto the top of his ears, a sudden rush of urgency and dread rushing through him as he needed him Uncle back. His heart was ready to explode on him and he didn't know what to do, "I wanted to tell you the truth, I really really did but I was terrified. I thought you would hate me…"

"Well why do you think that is Sonic, huh? I mean what do you expect me to do, give you a hug and say I don't care that you used me and played me for a fool for the better part of eight years? Is that what you want?" Chuck snapped back, darting around and taking threatening steps closer to the teen.

Sonic instantly had to jump back, for once wanting to keep as much distance between the two as possible, "N-no, I mean yes, I… I know you're mad at me, and I don't blame you, but please I just want you to listen to me" he begged, clapping his hands together and praying for a chance.

However Chuck simply brushed him off, "A chance to explain. Explain why you lied to me this whole time and took advantage of everything I had and everything I ever did for you?"

"No! No! I didn't mean to…"

"Oh you didn't mean to, is that the excuse now. It was all just one big misunderstanding now huh?" he mocked bitterly, pacing around the room as Sonic cowered away from him. "I quit my job for you Sonic. We were on a scientific breakthrough and I backed out at the last minute so I could take care of _you_. I spent all my resources getting you the best of everything! The best medical care, the best school, the best therapists, the latest gadgets and toys, and even the best bedroom I could buy. I gave you everything and you took it all like that" he snapped his fingers and paused for only a moment, "You took advantage of everything I did for you, and worst of all you never appreciated what you got, you always had to have more. You were so ungrateful from the moment you got here!"

Sonic stood silent. His hands trembled by his sides as he stared at his former Uncle sadly, knowing that the man was being truthful. He felt the tears sting at his eyes once again and with self-anger he wiped at his face before they could fall. "I never asked you to do any of that stuff" he muttered miserably, his voice quaking past quivering lips.

Chuck stared at him, his temper only increasing as he narrowed his eyes at the selfish teenager, "You never asked me?!" he shouted back with disbelieve, "Never asked… All you ever did was ask me for stuff. You were never happy with what you were given, there had to be more! When I made you shoes so you could actually run without burning your feet, they weren't good enough! They didn't look cool! And even though they took me a week to make, I still threw them away after contacting a famous shoe designer and paying for him to make the ones you did want!"

"Yeah but… I…" Sonic couldn't think of anything to say, he really had no defence as he was caught out on a selfish act. He breathed deeply and turned his head away, holding his arms tight around his stomach.

"And the reason I did it all… the reason I ignored any suspicion I had about you and let you use me as a door matt? Because I thought you were my brother's son. I looked at you and I saw the only thing I had left of him. I did it because I thought you were the only family I had left! But now…" he didn't finish the sentence, he couldn't look at Sonic anymore as his anger slowly subsided to grief.

Sonic didn't hold back as he angrily cried into his palms and growled at himself, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please I don't know what to do! Chuck..." He stared pleadingly at the older hedgehog, but the man never looked back. "I had to do something. You saw what happened to me at the orphanage, you saw the way they treated me there! I don't have a family, I was desperate!"

"Oh don't even try to feed me that crap about the orphanage Sonic!" the inventor spat out, taking the fifteen year old by complete surprise, as he never heard the man talk like that before. "I sent several police investigations into that place and they came up with nothing. No one was getting hurt, no one was being starved and they all said it was one of the nicest orphanages in Central City!" he fought back.

Sonic became on the verge of panicking as his breath hitched up to a rapid speed and his whole body shook intensely. The orphanage was always the most important story his Uncle believed, where no one else did. It was so important to him his Uncle believed him; it was the most truthful thing he had ever told. "No, no I told you! Nack has friends everywhere, he covers up his tracks and he tips people off. H-he knows people in the police force, a-and child protection and…"

"Will you just stop it?!" Chuck cut him off, holding his hand up high to dismiss his lies, "All you do is let your mind run away with you. You create these stupid little stories and then you actually believe them! Nothing happened at that orphanage did it? It's just another one of your lies!"

"NO!" Sonic cried out desperately, tears spilling down his muzzle again as he childishly stomped his foot against the ground. "No, you saw what he did to me! You know what that place was like, you promised me you believed me!"

"I promised I believed a lot of things, and look where that got me."

Sonic turned his back and held his head in his hands. Gentle sobs echoed through the room as he stood unknowing of what to do. "I'm telling the truth" he cried despairingly through his gloved hands.

Chuck rolled his eyes though, sick of seeing the charade Sonic would constantly pull when things didn't go the way he wanted them to. He watched with a heart of stone as the boy turned back around to face him, angst and pain filling his eyes as the tears drenched him. His old self wanted to hold him and tell him it would be okay, but that side didn't have a loud enough voice.

"Chuck…" Sonic moaned miserably, his breath hitching in his throat, "I'm so sorry… I'll do anything" he said. Slowly he walked closer to the older hedgehog.

He got so close before reaching out his arms. Chuck only looked away from him, the anger and betrayal was still evident in his eyes, but Sonic prayed he would break.

Slowly resting his hands onto the man's shoulders, he repeated what he said before, weeping distraughtly as he lowered his head onto his chest, "please… forgive me" he cried, carefully wrapping his arms around him.

Chuck looked down at the familiar sight, but this time he felt nothing. No sympathy or compassion.

He reached behind and took a hold of Sonic's wrists before pushing the boy away.

Sonic stared him disbelievingly, his cheeks flushing and his body trembling even more as the rejection ate away at his chest, hurting him more than physical pain ever did.

Chuck rubbed at his temples, closing his eyes and sighing deeply as he now knew what he must do.

"I can't do this anymore Sonic. The lies, and the bullying, it's too much…" he grew silent as the loud heartbroken cries broke out from the teenager. Sonic reached out to him again, no longer caring that he wasn't wanted. He grabbed his Uncle's arms and pleaded with him, "No don't do this, please I need you. I know I screwed up, I'm sorry! But it's still me… It's still Sonic! I know we're not officially related but you were the only real family I had, and I know I was yours. I'll change, I'll be good from now on. I-I'll apologise to everyone, I'll set things right, I'll try and… and…" he broke down, wanting so badly for his Uncle to hold him, but Chuck held him back, placing a small distance between the two again.

"No… Don't you understand Sonic? You lied about your identity, I have no idea who you are, you're a stranger to me!" he shouted, his frustration and grief returning. Sonic looked at him, desperately pleading, "I'm me! I'm still me, I haven't changed!" he tried to reason, but his heart sank as he watched Chuck disagree.

"No, you're not. I thought you were this kind, gentle boy who would do anything for anyone and put himself out for others. I was proud of you... But now…" he grew silent.

They stared at each other, both waiting for anything to happen.

With a deep sigh however, Chuck was the first to speak. He lowered his head and looked away, "I can't have a stranger living in my house."

Sonic closed his eyes, burying his head deep into his open palm as he sobbed quietly, "Please don't do this… I'll change" he tried again.

But sick from his promises, his Uncle snapped, "NO! I'm not falling for your lies again. I can't do this anymore! Get up to your room now, you have one hour to pack what you need. I want you out of my house by today, now go!"

The teenager gasped loudly with horror "NO PLEASE!" he cried out, but Chuck startled him more when he shouted "GO!" and pointed to the stairway.

Sonic didn't fight. With his super speed he ran up the stairs and into his bedroom before his Uncle could force him. He slammed the door behind as loudly as it could, causing the whole room to nearly shake from the impact.

Picking up his pillow from his bed, Sonic held it to his tear soaked face and screamed into it, all his anger, fear and pain being pulled out as his throat burned and bled.

He fell down onto the bed, the pillow falling with his face as he laid on the soft duvets, the comfy blankets his Uncle straightened out for him. He continuously screamed into the pillow as he bawled his eyes out, wrapping his arms around its soft cushion body as it was the only one that didn't reject him.

He lay heartbroken and destroyed, weeping bitterly and pleading for help.

Sonic didn't know what to do, he couldn't change his Uncle's mind, nor could he think of any lie now that would save him.

Slowly he lifted his face from the pillow, tears having drenched through the light material, he looked up to the window… he thought about running away. Just leave and never coming back… but where would he go? The house at Mystic Ruin wasn't fit to live in. How would he eat? What would he do?

Sonic moaned in defeat and dropped his head back down into the pillow, on the bed he loved so much. Looking around the room he had lived in for the majority of his life, he started to see it a lot differently then he normally did. Before it all just looked like stuff, stuff he either used or didn't use. Now though, he was realising how much he valued it all, and how much he enjoyed having all these little things. His guitar, his computer, his video games… he loved them all.

Now he had to leave it all behind.

Sitting himself up on the bed, Sonic only cried a bit more, leaving himself to come to terms with everything, knowing that this was going to be the hardest thing he ever did.

Desperately he keep glancing at the door, silently waiting and hoping his Uncle would walk through at any moment and tell him he changed his mind. He was still waiting though.

With a sharp intake of breath, he blinked the few tears away from his eyelashes and used his sleeve to rub his red face. Sonic slowly slide off his bed, and there was an instant stabbing pain shooting through his stomach when he moved. Even though it hurt, he ignored it.

He knelled down and pulled out a suitcase.

He barely knew where to start. Crossing his arms and looking around, Sonic just stared at what he owned, really wanting to put it off as long as he could, or at least until his Uncle changed his mind.

Sudden memories started to dance around his mind. He was ten when he got given that guitar. Chuck thought it was best for him to have a hobby as he already rejected the idea of learning sciencey stuff.

He looked up to his shelves, there were filled with trophies and medals for different events he took part in. All his sports games, his championships, he had excelled in everything… His Uncle was always there to watch him win.

Sonic walked up to his shelves. Had Chuck not cleaned his room all the time they would be thick with dust. He reached out and picked up the first medal he ever won in his first year at School. His junior Mathlete Super Star award… and even though his heart broke, he chuckled through lowly tears as he remembered the day well. Chuck was so proud of him… he had no friends to celebrate with but his Uncle made it feel unimportant, driving him out for pizza and getting his favourite movie. They would be snuggle under a blanket while the fire blazed in the living room, and guarantee every time he would fall asleep before the movie was over… and Chuck would carry him to his bed… tuck him in… say he loved him.

Sonic threw the medal to floor, momentarily breaking down as he threw his face into his hands, his shoulders raking as he sobbed, knowing the memory was now to be just a memory and nothing more.

Running his hands along his quills, Sonic breathed deeply, trying to compose himself as much as he could and keep as strong as possible. He picked the medal up from the ground and placed it inside his open suitcase. It was the very first thing he packed… his first achievement.

Looking around, there was stuff he wanted to keep, but knew it would be pointless. He wouldn't be able to use most of it. So he only packed what he needed; socks, a few jumpers, his jackets, spare gloves, his diary and medical journal… He stared at the small papered book in his hands.

Opening it up he looked at the newly filled out pages, describing the pains he felt in his hip and the panic attacks he recently had and the medication he needed to take. Underneath all of his own writing, a single sentence stood out being underlined, and in different hand writing. It said _NO RUNNING!_

With a deep trembling breath he placed the book into his suitcase, new questions filling his mind… was he still going to see Dr. Quack? He only trusted him so… it didn't matter anymore.

Sonic had gone into the bathroom and brought out a few things he would need to take such as toothbrush and cologne. Every time he placed something inside the bag the more it would chip away at his heart and made him want to cry again. He constantly rubbed at his eyes, making them red with irritation.

He walked to his computer. He didn't know if he needed anything from there but he decided to check. The only thing he saw as he pulled out the trunk under his desk and opened it up was the small red and white shoes that didn't belong there. The teenager bit down on his lip, tears pouring from his eyes. With an unsteady hand he picked them out and brought them to the suitcase, knowing he couldn't leave them behind.

Going back to the desk, he moved a few things around, but there was nothing he could see he wanted. There was only one thing that caught his eye.

"W-what?" he spoke softly through a gruff voice, staring down at a folded piece of paper he had moved. There was a bunch of codes written on it… he had no idea where they came from. They looked like something Chuck would understand.

Picking the paper up, he read along the codes, sniffing a few times to himself. He couldn't make out what they were for, but when he turned the page and looked on the back, a small note was written for him.

_My ultimate password decoding hack._

_In case you wanted to go online without using password book ~ Tails._

Password hack… the password book… It kept running through Sonic's mind again and again like he was piecing a puzzle together, but his head was such a mess he couldn't think right, until he looked down at his computer.

"Tails… can hack accounts. He doesn't need the password" he slowly put it all together, realisation and horror hitting his square in the stomach as he finally understood.

Panicking, he hyperventilated. His legs ready to give way before catching himself on his chair before he hit the ground. It felt as if he was drowning, no air being able to pass through his throat as his stomach lurched again and again, violently attacking his insides. No matter how tight he held his hand against his mouth, he couldn't stop the bile as his spat from his lips.

Quickly darting up from the chair was the final mistake as he fell to the floor, vomiting profusely onto the carpet floor.

He rested on only his knees and elbows, unable to keep anything in his stomach settled as he repeatedly gasped for air before his abdomen would clench painfully and he taste the awful fluid run past his lips.

Tails had done a lot of things, but he owned up to them all. He never hacked Sonic's account, and yet that was what he paid for.

Sonic slowly lifted his head up. His muzzle dripped from tears and his lips quivered. His eyes widened fearfully as he stared down at the mess he made below his head, the sight of blood being mixed in with his last meal.

His heart and stomach hurt so badly, he stared up at the door with frantic breathing and pitiful cries of help. "C-C-Chuck" he called out, but nobody came.

Closing his eyes and biting down on his lips painfully, he called out louder, "C-CHUCK!" but no matter how loud he cried out, or how much he pleaded and begged for help… the door never opened.

* * *

The drive had been long. Sonic didn't need to ask to know where he was going. He didn't fight when he brought his suitcase down the stairs and Chuck snatched it off from him and threw it into the boot of his car.

The older hedgehog had opened the passenger seat door wide and waited impatiently. Sonic knew he was still angry, it was shown clearly as the man never said anything, but slammed every door he met and marched at every place he needed to go to.

Ever since getting in his seat, Sonic curled himself up and rested his head on the window, watching as his house slowly vanished over the hills of his view as they drove on. He saw Amy walking along the street, heading back home… He could only wish he would see her again.

The speedster tried to sleep for the better part of the journey, but couldn't even close his eyes.

Neither he nor Chuck said anything to each other, until they reached the outskirts of Central City, home of the famous and the homeless.

It had been a few hours just to drive too, and thought of talking now when it was silent was enough to make him nearly be sick again. Regardless though, Sonic slowly lifted his head and carefully looked over towards his Uncle. The man scowled at the road before him, his chest raising heavily as his knuckles clenched the steering wheel.

"… Y-you know… w-what Nack does t-to us, to m-make more money… h-he forces us into… really b-bad positions… he photo's us, and s-sells them to his friends" he quietly whispers, for once really fearing the man he sat next to.

"H-he used to let people stay o-over, and w-would lock the d-door in my room s-so I couldn't escape… He k-keeps cameras everywhere, and he… a-and he showed everyone t-the video … I had n-nowhere to go… No one w-would help me… I was _desperate_" he whimpered, his voice constantly breaking on him now.

"Y-you don't know w-what he'll do… you don't know…"

Chuck never said anything. The car pulled up to a suddenly familiar drive way, tucked away behind a growing garden of trees and flowers as if a small piece of the countryside had moved into the city.

A large, almost cottage like house was centre of it all, only to be seen by those who came up close past the trees. Its large extensions showed off the posh looking pathway which directed to a small pond. There were play sets around, swings, slides and even a paddling pool. It was a child's dream house to be in.

The moment Sonic laid eyes on it, his stomach lurched once again and he quickly held his mouth shut with his hand to stop himself from making a mess in the car. With distain he swallowed what had jumped into his mouth, grimacing as he tasted rotten liver along with metal.

Chuck hadn't seen him, having already gotten out of the car at that point. The older hedgehog went to the boot and took out the boy's suitcase, carrying onto to the car door before dropping it to the ground. He waited patiently for Sonic to get out, but he remained in the car, really wishing there was a lock he could use now.

With a low growl, Chuck opened the door for him. Sonic kept his head down low, refusing to look up for once. Knowing the suborn nature, he reached into the car and leaned over to undo the boy's seatbelt in one quick, agitated motion.

He felt two hands hold onto his arm, and a head fall down to his shoulder. They trembled greatly as small whimpering noises sounded through his ears. "P-please don't do this…" a small voice cried on him. Chuck was past the point of forgiveness now, as he held the hands away and forced the younger hedgehog to lift his head away from him.

Sonic rubbed at his eyes, no longer caring about dignity or pride as he was willing to do anything to change the older man's mind. "I know you don't want me anymore, b-but why do I have to go here?"

"Because this is where you belong! In an orphanage where the only one you can hurt is yourself!" Chuck angrily raised his voice, not thinking about what he said before it was done.

Sonic stared at him, completely shocked and hurt at the harshness of his words. Wiping his eyes, his own grief suddenly melted as his temper started to get the better of him. Carelessly he pushed Chuck out of the way and got himself out of the car, picking up his bag as he did so. "Fine! You know what, I don't even care anymore! You were a horrible parent, you never cared about me, it was all just about you appeasing your guilt because you killed your brother!" he over stepped the line, and he knew it. He tried to storm away but Chuck had easily caught his arm and forced him back.

"Don't you even dare talk to me like that!" he started to shout, but Sonic cut him off, "Why not? It's not like you're part my life anymore are you? As soon as you leave you'll never come back. I'll never see you again, so why should I care now. I never loved you! You were just the sucker that played into my hands."

"Well good, I'm glad you feel that way. Because no, I am not coming back, this is the end of all your little fantasies, all your lies and your entire selfish attitude. You burdened my life once and that was enough for me."

Sonic only stood there, slowly registering what he said. Angrily he turned his back and drastically threw his bag back to the ground, letting it fall open as his things fell to the dirt. He didn't go to pick them up. Instead he placed his hands to the back of his head, gripping his quills tightly as he felt himself wind up. His face flushed a bright red as his brow kitted together. A high pitch wail sounded as silent made sobbed pushed through his mouth.

He wanted to run back to his Uncle and beg him not to leave, and he was about to until a tall, purple weasel wearing a cowboy hat and boots walked up to the dramatic scene, distracting them both.

"Hello there, Sonic?" he seemingly paused, staring at the younger hedgehog that wiped at his face vigorously before taking a few steps backward.

"Boy is that you? You've grown so much champ, it's good to see you" he spoke cheerfully, opening his arms and moving closer to the fifteen year old. Sonic was quick to push him away the moment he laid an arm on him, causing the weasel to temporarily lose balance, "Whoa hey!" he exclaimed, Chuck rushing to help him.

Sonic ignored the disapproving faces and angrily looked away, keeping his hands in his pockets. "Where's my room?" he asked impolitely, "Sonic just stop it-"

"No it's okay" Nack interrupted the older man, giving a warm friendly smile as reassurance, "You get your old room. Luckily the last child in there got adopted a few weeks ago and…" his voice drifted off as Sonic already left them, marching towards the giant house and making his way inside.

Nack shook his head and sighed with sympathy, "Still as feisty as ever I see. Don't feel bad, this type of situation is hard everyone, it's just a shame it doesn't always work out" he consoled, placing a light hand on Chucks back.

The older hedgehog still felt angry as he watched the teenager storm away, but now that he was out of sight, his heart instantly sank, feeling almost drained away. "I know… Am I doing the right thing?" he asked, for once feeling that even he with his ingenious mind needed someone to guide him.

Nack smiled lightly, only having shown up a few moments ago and looking like he already knew the boy inside out, "I know Sonic pretty well Chuck, and from what you said on the phone, it doesn't sound like he's changed. If you go back there and get him now… when will he learn enough is enough?"

Chuck stared at the door… he knew there was only one answer.


	30. A New Friend

**Hey beautiful people, just want to say a big thank you to everyone who reviewed :D**

**This is only a small chapter (compared to others) and the reason is because this was supposed to be at the end of the last chapter, but sadly last chapter was long enough, so think of this as a bonus chapter if you will.**

**Sadly I might not be updating as quickly as I normally do, got a lot of things planned for the next week but I will try and get to it as best I can.**

**This hopefully answers a few questions for people :P**

**Also many of you noticed Sonic was slightly out of character last chapter and mentioned he would have ran away. That is totally true and I apologies, but I needed a reason for him to get to the orphanage for the story's plot line, and I didn't really highlight the reasons he stayed enough I feel. Hopefully this chapter will give some justice though.**

**Anyway, hope this ties you over for now and enjoy ;)**

* * *

Sitting on the single bed next to the door, Sonic sat silently with his legs crossed and arms trembling slightly in his lap. There wasn't much noise coming from inside the house, but as he remembered there never was. All he could hear was the muffled chattering from outside.

He didn't want to look out the window, he just wanted to sit and wait, holding his breath and silently praying.

The chattering stopped, and he heard the sound of a car drive away.

That was it… and here he was.

Closing his eyes and lowering his head, Sonic felt his heart sink knowing that the greatest life he ever had was gone now, and he was back in the nightmare he had escaped from.

This time he didn't cry. He wasn't sure if he had it left in him anymore, he was so tired and drained of energy that he could only sit and let time pass by as he stared at the pattered wallpaper in the room.

It hadn't been hard for him to find his way around to his old bedroom. Apart from some new gadgets and updated paint jobs here and there, nothing in the house had changed. He had seen a few kids he didn't recognise sitting in the living room but he wasn't exactly in the mood to make friends.

He just ran to his room and shut the door.

The room was decorated differently from when he was here last. It used to be an off putting white, but now it had green stripes with a few new shelves here and there. The bed was the same one, but other than that and a small desk and wardrobe it looked really empty. It looked so much smaller now, or maybe it was because he was bigger. He doubted he'd fit the bed properly, or that his stuff would fill the room. It was a lot smaller than the room he had at Chuck's place...

It didn't matter though. He wasn't going to be staying for long. Now that he knew his Uncle was officially made up his mind, what need did he have to stick it out?

Sonic inhaled deeply, finally feeling like he had to keep a level head for once. He went to push himself up so he could go to his window, but he froze as the sound of loud, clonking boots echoed along the hallway from outside his room.

Before he could move, the door had already opened and the purple weasel walked inside holding a closed suitcase in his arms, "Thought you'd want this" he smiled before placing it down by the side of the bed.

Sonic didn't say anything, he just watched the man cautiously, like he was a ticking time bomb. Nack saw it easily, but he simply snickered to himself and sat down at the end of the bed. Instantly Sonic shuffled as far back as he could.

"So kidda, looks like you still know your way around huh?" he spoke, in a friendly and caring tone. It wasn't appreciated however as Sonic narrowed his eyes at him, "Not exactly hard to forget this place" he snapped back.

Nack laughed, "Well I must say Speedy, you sure surprised me. I expected to see you back here a lot sooner than now. I guess I owe Bark twenty bucks."

Sonic only looked away from him, a snarl slowly forming on his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest tightly, "Don't get used to it. I won't be here for long" he retorted with. Nack raised his brow challengingly, "Aw, well it's that precious. Little demon child thinks he's grown up and ready for the big world now" the weasel sneered mockingly, reaching over and pinching the hedgehog's cheeks. Sonic slapped his hand away the moment he came near and glared at him, hatred being filled in his eyes.

Nack wasn't done teasing though, "Still as strung up as always I see. Don't feel too bad about being returned though, I mean surprisingly you didn't blow it in the first five minutes like everyone thought, that's a pretty big achievement right there. Especially with all those little lies you like to tell people. What was it Chuck mentioned to me just now? Something about me letting people into your room, locking the door and… what was it? Recoding you?"

Sonic stared at him for a moment, before furiously slapping his hand against the hard mattress, "That happened and you know it!"

"Nuh uh, I don't remember that, think your minds running away again" Nack teased him, grinning wider and the hedgehog heatedly growled to himself.

"Oh and talking of little lies you like to tell, I just want to thank you for all those years ago when I had several police investigations on this place, all of them accusing me of some pretty nasty stuff" even though Nack's voice grew louder and even sounded more threatening and dangerous, the smile never left his face. Sonic avoided eye contact, his heart racing again as he felt caught out on another crime he committed.

The weasel's hand slowly glided along the bed, until it got closer and closer to the blue boy. "Yeah you know, it was just so much fun having to spend days and days coming up with reports, your medical history to show you have metal issues, which by the way are surprisingly easy to fake. Luckily most of them saw my side of things and let the issue go, the one or two that got a bit sneaky… well my inside friend sorted that out" he laughed. "Still no good deed goes unpunished…"

His hand slowly lifted and pulled Sonic's left foot away from under its fold. He stretched out his whole leg and casually rested the foot onto his lap, keeping it still in his hands.

Sonic felt the butterflies and sea of nausea have a civil war inside his stomach. He tried to subtly kick his foot out of Nack's hold but the weasel easily kept his hold.

"What are you doing?" Sonic felt his voice tremble from his throat as the care take of this place moved his fingers along to the golden buckle of his shoe and undid it. He slid his foot right out, exposing his white socked foot that fidgeted.

The shoe fell the floor and when hearing the small thud, Sonic stared up at the evil glance that shone within the weasel's eye. He started to remember why he was so afraid of this place, why he hated Nack so much and would try to run away countless times. He remembered why he feared this man so much. The same fear that paralysed him when he should be fighting back.

With a twisted smile, Nack winked at him, "Well I know what you're like, and this time I'd prefer if I didn't have the police at my door all the time because you ran away and ended up in hospital somewhere… soooo"

A small shrug of the shoulders seemed to be his only move, but then a quick twisting of his hands that met a sickening crack sent Sonic on the edge as he screamed out from the agonising pain that shot up his leg from his ankle.

His breathing grew frantic as he threw his body forward, his arms reaching out so he could desperately pry the weasel's hands away.

Nack happily left him, standing up from the bed and dusting his hands off like he had finished his work for the day. Grinning, he watched the teen in pain as Sonic retracted his foot, staring in horror as it bent the wrong way. Small moans and cries echoed out as well as a few single tears that managed to break loose.

To Nack it looked hilarious, "Oh Sonic, you slipped and fell? Silly blue hedgehog, now this is why we don't run with super-impossible-dangerous-mutant-like speed now isn't it?" he cooed with pretentious pouted lips. He reached out a hand and ruffled the quills on Sonic's head, much to the fifteen year olds dismay.

"I want your things unpacked in the next hour. The room will be spotless then you can start your chores" the weasel ordered, looking down at his watch.

Sonic stared up at him disbelievingly, though not really surprised. How was he supposed to do anything with a twisted foot?

But Nack gave the final word and left him alone in the room, making it official.

Sonic waited a few moments, just to make sure he wasn't coming back.

Looking back down at his ankle that he held in his hands, he tried to apply a bit of pressure, but the moment his hands laid upon it he yelped out as it felt like electricity running along his nerves. He tried to see if he could move his foot, but all he could do was lightly move his toes. It started to look bigger than normal now, no doubt swelling up under his sock.

"Ohh this can't get any worse!" he cried out, throwing his head back down to his pillow. He covered his eyes with his hands and moaned in agony as the throbbing in his leg intensified.

He felt the stinking at the brim of his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day, but he swallowed any urge of weakness he had. This wasn't a place where you could cry and have someone tell you everything was okay. This was a place where crying made you the next target. Things were done differently here…

There was a small little knock at his door.

Removing his hands from his face, Sonic turned his head towards the small crack in the door frame. Pocking her head through, a small young rabbit stood shyly, her big brown eyes looking at him as if waiting for an answer. "Hello" her high pitch voice called out, though she sounded slight unsure.

Sonic didn't move for her, he actually felt himself attempt a brave face as he returned her a small smile, though hard given the pain he was in, and lightly waved his hand, "hi" he mumbled.

The small girl must have taken that as something good as she suddenly beamed at him, becoming oddly cheerful, "Is it okay if I come in?" she asked innocently, slightly opening the door a little winder.

"Um, sure" was all he said, but the little girl already let herself in at this point, having decided that he was friendly. She skipped to the side of his bed and went straight to where his injured foot rested. "I saw Nack come into your room and I heard you scream, I thought that maybe you'd like some help" she kindly explained as she grabbed the blankets at the end of the bed and tried to make a nice soft pile.

Sonic watched with a raised brow as she did so, "Yeah well, guess it's not the first time I've had the Nack welcome" he tried to laugh. It was cut short as a small groan escaped his lips when the little girl tried to lift his foot onto the small mound of blankets, "I'm sorry" she sadly apologised when seeing his pain.

After being sure his ankle had the right support, she picked something from the floor that Sonic hadn't even seen her put down. He wasn't going to complain though as she held up an ice pack and carefully placed it on the area that swelled under his sock.

The hedgehog hissed at the ice-like sparks that shot passed his inflamed injury, but after a moment or so it seemed so be doing good as it felt a bit less intense.

The young rabbit was holding it down, her young smile never faltering as she cared for his leg.

"So… how long you been here for?" Sonic asked, deciding he should probably take an interest.

The girl looked up at him, her face slowly turning up as she thought back, "I think it's been about six or seven months" she replied sweetly, "Have you been here before?"

"Sadly yes, up until I was seven, can't remember where I was before the orphanage" Sonic answered honestly, surprised in himself at how relaxed he started to feel, "Nothing like being home is there?" he joked, only laughing half-heartedly though as he looked around the depressing room.

"I guess so" she sighed lightly, "how come you had to come back?"

Sonic felt a stab in his chest. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he now realised that he wasn't completely comfortable with the topic. "I uh… did something really stupid. I don't really want to talk about it though. I've lost the only family I had, and now all my friends hate me because of a stupid rumour and now I'm back at this place… and it's grounding techniques" he finished by motioning to the swollen ankle next to her.

The young girl looked up at him with big sad eyes, "Oh that's really sad, I'm sorry. I used to live with my mama, but one day I got kidnapped by a nasty man. He took me all the way to Central City and said he was going to hurt me. But some really nice police men saved me before he could. They said they would help me find my mama but I don't know where she is" she explained, almost like she had told that story a few times before.

Sonic felt his ears drop as sympathy merged in with his already emotional filled up mind. He surprisingly felt really bad for the girl… and that was something he wasn't used to. He wasn't even involved in this situation yet part of him wanted to be. "Don't you remember where you lived?"

She shook her head, "No, all I can remember is mama's name, Vanilla" she answered sadly, her big beautiful brown eyes knotting together as small tears formed at the brims.

Something about this made Sonic feel really weird. To see someone younger then him and defiantly a lot more innocent crying was just… he couldn't explain it, he just wanted it to stop. Was this what his Uncle used to feel when he would cry?

"Hey cheer up kiddo, I'll help you find your mother" he heard himself promise before he actually realised what he said. The young girl rubbed at her eyes, and her sweet cheerful smile returned, "Really?" she exclaimed.

"Absolutely, I mean I can't run much at the moment…" his eyes tried down to his swollen foot, "But I'll see what I can do."

He suddenly felt two arms leap up and wrap around his neck as the young girl cheerfully embraced him, squealing down his now deafened ear. "Oh thank you, thank you! Nack told me I would never see mama again! She'll be so happy to see me!"

Possibly the only genuine smile Sonic had ever felt in a while formed upon his muzzle as he gently placed his arms around the young girl in return, "You bet she will" he grinned with a small wink. For once all his problems and all his pain felt like they had been pushed to the back of his mind. He still thought about his Uncle, and even Tails, but for now this young girl had him completely distracted, and it felt like it was what he truly needed. "What's your name by the way?"

"My name is Cream" she smiled, "What's yours?"

"I'm Sonic the hedgehog."


	31. Something's Not Right

** Whooo update! I did it :D**

**Thank you guys for being patient with me, though if I'm honest I feel like I needed that break. Writing so much at once makes you a little brain dead so I just needed a bit of time to refresh. **

**Anyway, thank you guys so much for the reviews, especially on the last chapter, like seriously I re-read it and I didn't realise how bad my writing had gotten D:**

**I can't believe you guys put up with it, thank you for that lol.**

**Some of you have suspisions about our little Cream. Is she the evil villan master mind you're all expecting her to be? **

**Keep reading and find out ;)**

**Enjoy**

* * *

It hadn't been as long as it felt. Only a week since he went into hospital, but even Tails knew he couldn't stay away forever, in fact he didn't want to.

Standing at the lockers much like he grew used to doing, the young fox stared down at his small feet that rocked back and forth. His old worn out brown shoes didn't look as nice as the LightSpeed ones he had. It made him feel like he had never owned them at all. The idea was almost believable too, because now that he was back in his old brown shoes and no longer had Sonic on his side, no one took notice of him anymore. It wasn't completely going back to how things were though, a few students had given him a quick question if he was okay, but they didn't stop to talk to him properly.

Tails knew he wasn't loved in the School, but it hurt that not even his fellow Brainiac's gave him much concern either. Was it because of what he did? Then maybe he deserved it.

The young fox lifted his head up slowly, taking in the surrounds as students a lot older and taller crossed his way. A few looked over and stared at the sling that held his arm in place, or the faded bruise on his eye, but the majority ignored him.

Tails couldn't help but sigh. Even though he was disappointed, he knew deep down he didn't care. He kept waiting in that one spot for ages, just hoping he'd run into the one person he truly wanted to see.

Instead he saw a red echidna.

Knuckles approached him, his regular scowl firm on his face and his hands gripping into fists as he clutched the strap of his bag. "So you're back huh? Surprised you braved it. Why are you standing by Sonic's locker?"

Tails, even though nervous around the older teen, rolled his eyes and tried to straighten himself up to look taller and more confident. "I'm waiting for him, but it's none of your business" he grumbled, crossing his small arms and standing his ground.

Knuckles was the least bit fazed, "Well you'll be waiting a while, I'm guessing you haven't heard the latest news?" the puzzled look from the young fox told him he hadn't.

"Sonic got expelled."

"Expelled?!" Tails gasped. He stared up at the echidna expecting the older teen to turn around and laugh in his face for being so gullible, but Knuckles was as serious as ever. "I can't believe it… w-was it because of what he did to me?" the eight year old felt a small lump rise in his throat as guilt started to creep it's ugly head.

"Don't flatter yourself kid, sides it's none of your business" the echidna mocked, sending a gleaning smile. Tails looked away, now feeling he should have been more polite earlier.

"Sorry" he mumbled lowly. Knuckles simply shrugged with a light scoff, "Grow up" he was silent a moment, before he took a sharp intake of breath and leaned himself onto the lockers as well. "I dunno, something weird happened… Everyone's saying they caught Sonic with Mrs. Winters."

When he looked down, he only saw Tails staring right back up with confusion. "You know, like… in a boyfriend girlfriend kind of way" he tried to explain, feeling a slight blush come to his face as the idea of explaining the situation to an eight year old made him feel more then uncomfortable.

"You mean like… kissing?"

Taking a moment to decided, Knuckles nodded his head "Yes, exactly that."

"Eww he kissed the teacher?"

"Yeah, and problem is that's illegal, so apparently that's why he got kicked out" he finished off, shrugging his shoulders lightly and letting his eyes drift away.

Tails felt the chill run through his spine at the idea of Sonic and Mrs. Winters to the point it made him shudder. He felt like he couldn't come to terms with it. The idea of those two being in love it just… it didn't add it. It wasn't right.

"It doesn't make sense. Why would Sonic do that?"

Knuckles didn't have an answer. He just shook his head and puffed lightly, "Beats me. Sonic has a lot of issues, you found that out for yourself. I figured he'd go overboard but this… This is too much."

"No I mean it, it doesn't work out. Sonic hated Mrs. Winters, he couldn't stand to be around her" Tails started to argue, looking at the ground as he grew deep into thought as if he was staring at a complicated puzzle. He rubbed at his chin as his mind calculated all the memories of the two together and tried to piece it all up.

Knuckles thought he was just in denial, "Well I didn't believe it either, but apparently it's all over the internet. Someone caught a picture of the moment and posted it on SpaceBook and-"

"Show me!" the boy snapped, catching Knuckles by surprise. With his hands up in defence Knuckles took his phone from his bag and took a moment to find the picture he spoke about.

When found he handed it to the young fox. Tails stared at it intently, analysing all the details.

There it was; Sonic and Mrs. Winters kissing with his hand placed on her chest. At first Tails felt his cheeks go pink, feeling very awkward about the position they were both in. But then he noticed something. He looked at it a bit longer, taking in stance and angle… more specifically the way they were angled… The answer hit him like a brick.

"Knuckles!" he cried out, giving the older teen a heart attack as he jumped and threw his hand to his heart "What you maniac what?"

"Look at this! Look" he grabbed onto Knuckles arm and forcefully pulled him down to his height so he could see the picture. "Look at the way they are, do you see it?"

Knuckles stared at the picture, but nothing new jumped out at him, "Not really. They're both standing and Sonic's groping her."

"Wrong! They're not standing. Look at Sonic, he's pushed backwards, not standing up straight, while Mrs. Winters is leaning over him. Not only that but if you look at their hands, Mrs. Winters is grabbing his arm and she's holding it pretty tight…"

"Yeah but… she's trying to push him away" Knuckles scratched his head.

"So it looks like, but…" Tails zoomed in on the photo "See it now? She's gripping onto his sleeve and it's pulled out, like it's Sonic whose trying to pull away from her. And look at his hands, both of them! They're open! He's not holding her, he's trying to push her away!"

The echidna snatched the phone back. He stared at it, eyes wide and horrified as he took in all the details Tails pointed out. "Oh mother of chaos… are you kidding me with this?!" he suddenly yelled out, anger blazing as he almost crushed the phone in his hand.

At first glance the picture looked just the way everyone believed it was, but now… this was the deal breaker.

"She set him up… Son of a bitch she actually set him up!" the reality hit home, and Knuckles was unsteadily forcing himself not punch something.

Tails raised his hands and tried to calm the teenager down, "Knuckles we got to go to the police."

"With what? We don't have real proof, we don't even know for sure if he was set up or not, that's just what we've seen" he argued.

Realising he had a point, Tails felt his heart sink a little, but he had to do something. "Maybe we… you could call Sonic, or go see him, and ask about it. We could get him to go to the police and then…"

He was cut short by bitter laughter, "Great idea genius! Don't you think I already tried that? I tried calling and texting but got nothing, he's not answering to anyone. When I went round his house his Uncle slammed the door in my face."

"Oh…" the eight year old tried to think of something else, "Maybe we could get Espio to-"

"Nope, the others don't want anything to do with him now. Pretty much everyone hates him."

"Amy?"

"She's back on loser-street, no one wants to know her because she dated Sonic. Also I don't trust her, I think she was up to something."

Tails was on the verge of giving up hope. It seemed like any idea he had just wasn't going to work. Throwing his head in his hands he tried to pound the answer into his mind, "Think, think, think" he kept repeating.

"That's it! Security camera! We can look at the footage from the security camera in Mrs. Winters classroom and that will prove Sonic didn't do it!" he announced.

But Knuckles, shaking his head, had a problem to that as well, "No use, her security camera doesn't work remember" he replied, stating the well-known fact that almost every student knew. He watched as Tails threw his back against the locker and moaned painfully, though he didn't think it was the locker that hurt him. Placing a hand to his lips, a thought suddenly came to him.

"You know… maybe that's not a bad idea… Sonic has been acting weird ever since he got regular detentions with Mrs. Winters, but we didn't really think much about it. We can't see what's happened in her classroom, but if you remember back to the Science project after he threw the table at her…"

"She dragged him out the classroom and took him to a different room!" Tails finished, jumping up as adrenalin kicked in. "If we see the footage from that camera, it might show what's been going on between the two!"

"Whether they've been fighting or having an affair…"

"But if not… we could clear Sonic's name…"

Knuckles and Tails looked at each other dead in the eye, the weight of this new challenge now growing wildly as the both felt the need to answer the sudden call of responsibility.

Throwing his phone in his bag, Knuckles clapped his hands together and broke the silence, "Okay, we got a plan but before we do anything, you got to tell me why you want to do this! I know my reasons, but Sonic threw you into a wall. I want to know your motive kid" he questioned accusingly, suddenly not as friendly as he was a few moments ago.

Tails shifted on his feet awkwardly, feeling both sad and scared at the same time "I know…" he started to admit, now wondering how he was going to explain. So he just gave him the truth. "I miss Sonic… I want him to forgive me."

Knuckles expression never faltered. If anything he seemed to look more suspicious then before, but eventually a smile broke through and he dropped his intimidating stance, "And if you clear Sonic's name he'll have to forgive you right?"

Tails was silent, only giving a hopeful shrug.

Shaking his head in amusement, Knuckles made up his mind, "Alright I'm in" at his words Tails gasped with glee as a large grin grew onto his face, "But it doesn't mean I like you!" and with those words it was gone.

Regardless he kept a smile, more determined than ever as the two boys reached out their hands and shook, sealing the deal that they would work together in saving Sonic.

If only they knew what they were saving him from.

* * *

He couldn't sleep. Every bone in his body ached and his muscles felt like they had been burned but he couldn't rest them. No matter how often Sonic tossed and turned in his bed he couldn't get comfortable. He started to think his mattress was the same one he had since he was last here as he felt the springs dig into his back. His swollen and twisted ankle had long ago stopped throbbing with pain. The only time it hurt was when pressure was applied, and sadly that was more often than it should have been.

Sonic hadn't been able to sleep the whole week he was here. He couldn't believe it had already been a week since he who shall not be named dropped him off. Nack had made him suffer for it, and not just by breaking his foot. On his first night Nack called him down in the evening so he could meet the others. By meeting the others it was more of giving an example of what would happen if anyone tried calling the police on him. He forced all the children to sit and watch as he held him down on the floor and strangled him until he passed out. Everything has been a blur since then.

The other kids avoided him. He was the oldest and now suddenly the new favourite for the carers. Anyone who was close with the favourite had more chance of getting hurt. The only one who was brave enough to even talk to him was Cream, and the young girl suffered for it.

Sonic stared at the image on his phone. His green eyes held the picture as a reflection as the only light in the room was the light from his screen.

Tails and himself sat on the cool green grass, surrounded by choas and pulling silly faces. He kept flickering through his photos, it slowly becoming a routine for him along with the forty seven chores he was given each day. He stared at the small yellow fox, his happy grin that brightened up the picture compared to the uncaring smile Sonic would always pull.

He missed him. He missed everything.

Cream would often remind him of Tails, her small welcoming smile, her little laughter, the fact she stuck by his side like she was glued to him even when he wanted to be alone.

It wasn't the same though, he knew that. But he didn't want to push her away. Whenever he saw her cry… he saw Tails.

Sonic stopped thinking. His ears flickered upwards as a noise echoed lightly from the stairs.

It was footsteps. Big heavy footsteps thumping up each step…

His eyes widened as fear seeped in and took control. His body tensed up to the point he couldn't move. The large boots clonked along the wooden floor, the noise growing louder.

Inhaling, his breath with shaky and dry. Sonic felt his chest starting to rise and fall, unable to keep up with the beating of his own heart. He started to sweat through his jacket, face growing pale and hot at the same time.

He did the only thing he could remember to do. Carefully and with an unsteady hand he slid his phone under his pillow. Then holding his breath giving a silent prayer, he quietly pulled himself to the edge of his bed and lowered his body down to the floor, cautiously not making a sound.

Lying on his stomach, he froze for only a second as the light from underneath was blocked out by two small shadows… and he realised the boots had gone silent.

He slid himself under his bed, moving anything that was underneath to the front so he could hide behind it all.

He made it just in time. The door slowly creaked opened and Sonic knew he had to stop breathing if he wanted to stay quiet.

He watched as the light poured into his room. A matching pair of cowboy boots stepped inside.

The feet stood in the middle of the room, a small humming sound coming from the man that owned them. The tip of the toes turned towards the bed, and they stepped closer.

Sonic shook as he stared at the boots that were only inches away from his face. He trembled violently, wanting so badly to run. He screwed his eyes tight and bit down on his lip, using every shred of self-control he had left not to scream. He was so afraid of being found.

But after a moment, and hearing the irritated groans echo around the room, he bravely opened his eyes.

The feet had turned around and were walking away.

It took everything not to sigh in relief, but he continued to watch hoping they were heading towards the door. He was wrong.

His eyes followed as the cowboy boots walked to the corner of his room by the window, and he saw a gloved hand reach down and open his bag. The hand went through and picked up his wallet, helping themselves to whatever Sonic had inside before throwing it the floor.

There was no need to stick around. Finally the boots walked towards the door and closed it behind, blocking the small amount of light in the room and leaving him in darkness.

Sonic sighed deeply, closing his eyes in almost bliss as nothing but gratitude and relief washed over him. He laid his head on the cold floor for just a moment, needing a few seconds just to recuperate accept the lucky escape he had. At this point it was the most settled he had been, he didn't want it to end.

Moving the stuff out of his way, Sonic crawled out of his hiding place, now suddenly realising how much his actions had hurt his ankle, but he could cope with it. He sat on the floor with his back against the bed, leaning against it as he tried to steady his breathing. He was completely shook up as his hands never sensed to tremble.

But it was okay now. It was over.

_AHHHHHHHHH_

Started by the high pitched scream, Sonic snapped his head towards the door as the alarmed noise rung through the hall ways and ripped through his ears.

His stomach dropped and panic settled through his mind.

"Cream!"

Darting up, he threw the door open and bolted down the hall way. The only thing that prevented him from using full speed was the injury on his ankle, but he refused to let it slow him down.

Reaching the young girls door, he threw himself into the room and picked up the lamp as the closest object he could reach.

Nack had her by her wrists and pinned her down to the bed. The six year old bawled her eyes out and begged him to let her go.

With the lamp high in the air, everything happened at once. Sonic broke it over Nack's head. When he fell down to the floor in pain he scooped Cream up into his arms and he ran.

Darting through the hall ways he could hear Nack shouting at him, threating and cursing him. The large boots echoed along the floorboards as the carer chaste after them.

Sonic couldn't think, he just ran. Cream buried into his jacket as he slipped down the stairs, knowing Nack wasn't too far behind. He had to do it no matter how much it would hurt.

With everything he had, Sonic speeded up and curled himself into a ball before dashing and breaking through a window.

He was in the large garden but he didn't stop. He flew through the trees and past the bushes, leaving nothing but a flash of blue behind. He held Cream as tight as he could as he started to feel a tear fall from his cheek.

In only seconds Sonic could finally stop as he reached a place he recognised. They were completely surrounded by trees and with just one jump Sonic reached them both up to the small platform that was built on the lower branches. He opened the door of the small, old wooden tree house and closed himself and the young girl inside.

Finally he stopped… and he breathed.

He sat down in the corner of the small empty room, Cream resting on his lap. He hadn't been able to hear her before but she wept loudly and her tears had socked through to his chest. She had been so scared, he wasn't sure if she had realised where they were.

"H-hey, i-it's okay… he w-won't find us" Sonic promised, wrapping his arms around the small child and holding her as close as possible, rocking softly side to side.

Cream only hiccupped and gripped onto his arms, not wanting him to ever let go, "H-he w-wanted t-to kill m-me" she burst out despairingly, tears streaming down her face as she buried herself into his arms.

Sonic felt a chill run through his spine, his body trembled weekly as numbness took control. His ankle felt like it was covered in needles, it throbbed with agonising pain. His throat was dry and he desperately needed someone to help him. He was so scared, but he couldn't show it.

"N-Nack wouldn't d-do that… H-He's just t-trying to s-scare you… h-he can't get us n-now" the more Sonic spoke, he saw that his breath fogged in front of him. A harsh wind blew through all the cracks and holes in the wooden tree house, it's age giving them a disadvantage. Only now that he had stopped running, Sonic finally listened and heard the heavy down pour of rain that pounced on top of the unstable looking roof. It was followed by the unmistakable sound of thunder and he gulped lowly, realising how dangerous their situation was. He hadn't even realised he was wet until this moment, as the dampness in the air made him feel like he was lying in ice. Luckily he ran so fast he wasn't completely drenched.

But he looked down at the small rabbit in his arms. She was wet. She shivered badly and all she had to wear was a thin night dress.

With a small sigh, he did what he had to do. Sonic gentled pushed the girl up from him before grabbing the ends of his jacket. He pulled it up and lifted it over his head until all his body was exposed.

He watched as Cream stared at him with horror, taking in all his scars and bruises. It all became too much as she wailed loudly for him and the pain he had gone through. Before she could throw herself back to him, Sonic forced the jacket over her, making sure she put her head through and that she wore it properly and had room to put her legs up to keep them warm.

Now dressed, Sonic held her as close as he could, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing the purple bundle in his arms to help keep her warm. He shivered franticly and goose bumps infected across his pale skin.

He pushed her to go to sleep, promising that they would never be found… Knowing he had lied again.


	32. Can't Move

**Update! It's only a quicky one though. It was going to be longer but meh, what can I say? I like updating fast :)**

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews on my last chapter, a lot of people are wondering if Sonic and Cream are safe, well now you'll find out.**

**If my writing of this chapter isn't up to much then I'm sorry. It's past midnight and the reason I'm up so late is I had a run in with a very big spider that kept running towards me and there was no one else to deal with it. May I mention I have a very big fear of spiders... So that got me freaked. Putting it in a cup and throwing it down the drain worked but when I walked back inside the house, boom , another spider with big pointy fangs. Offically in panic mode and writing my story like O_O uefufshbsb gvfff. **

**So yeah please enjoy this chapter, laugh at my tragic spider story and please leave a review and hopefully update soon.**

* * *

Every part of Sonic's body had felt numb until the light rays of sunshine seeped in through the branches and cracks of the small tree house and warmed his white skin.

Even though his eyes were shut, the more his senses started to awaken the more he felt light brightening under his eyelids. His arms felt full but stiff at the same time and something was breathing against him… Cream, it was Cream.

She must be awake, he could feel something brush against his cheek before moving up to his ear and pinching the tip. It wasn't friendly however, it actually hurt.

Stirring and giving a small moan, Sonic gingerly opened his eyes. He was met with the sight of purple and a large evil grin.

"Found yoooooou."

With a sharp cry Sonic shot back, disturbing the girl that was actually asleep in his arms. "Nack!" the young girl gasped, now fully awake and staring at the older man that crawled towards him, his grin forming slowly into a snarl. "You really thought you could get away huh?" his taunted, his voice gritty and cynical.

Sonic had little time to react before Nack lashed out and grabbed onto both his and Cream's wrists, practically pulling her away from her blue hero. He dragged them both to the edge of the tree house before starting to descend the wooden ladder.

"You wait here!" he ordered the young girl in the large jacket before he brashly let go and grabbed Sonic with both arms. The hedgehog struggled against him, trying to pull and slip out of his hold, but before he knew it Nack had gotten as far down as he could before pulling Sonic down with him and letting go, allowing the blue teen to fall down to the flat surface below.

"Sonic!" Cream cried out, placing her hands to her mouth in worry as she stared down, waiting for the hedgehog to show he was okay.

The teenager lay on his back, his head throbbing as he moaned against the double vision. His hand drew to his head where he imagined he could feel a bump growing.

A small thud was heard next to him, and when he looked with half closed eyes he felt relieved to see Nack had held Cream in his arms to get her down instead of throwing her. But the girl looked scared and she was ready to cry.

Placing Cream down on the floor, the rabbit made her to way towards the hedgehog before Nack held her back, "Oh I don't think so missy. You and the speed demon are going to be in a world of punishment for your little act last night!"

Walking up to Sonic, he ignored the young rabbit as she started to whimper, and he ignored the pain stricken grimace look upon the fifteen year olds face. He reached down and grabbed him by his arm and forced him to his feet.

"You two had better get your sorry butts moving or so help me I'm gonna damn well kick them both to hell!" Nack wasted no more time before he set off with the two in his hold, one child on each side. However within just a couple of steps Sonic fell straight to the ground.

"AHH… Ahh… Oh crap…" the hedgehog painfully hissed, his ankle laid out in front of him on the grass. He hadn't been wearing any shoes, only his not-so-white socks, and underneath the mud caked garments his foot had intensely swollen to the point it was twice the size of his other. The pain that electrocuted him was serious, to the point he wondered if it was broken or not.

But that wasn't the only thing that brought him down. The stabbing in his chest was unlike he had felt before, almost like needles were being driven through and drilling into his heart.

Nack had no care for any of the obvious pain the child was in. "Get up!" he sneered before grabbing his arm once again and pulling him forcefully up to his feet. Sonic stood but in a second only when his foot touched the ground and his chest started to burn, he found himself gasping for breath before falling down once again.

He lay on the ground, barely pushing himself onto his back as his unsteady hand clutched at his heart, applying as much pressure as possible as he struggled, unable to tell which pain was worse.

Nack growled lowly, his anger soon being hotter than the sun. "Don't even think about pulling that one on me, I said get up!" he repeated, holding his hand high in the air and threatening to slap him if he didn't do as he was told.

Cream watched it all play out, shaking in fear as to what Nack would do if Sonic didn't stand up.

The hedgehog shook his head, holding his hand out in defence while small tears escaped from his eyes, "N-no p-please… I-I can't…" he begged, trying to explain but Nack was impatient.

Frustration taking over, the weasel finally let go of the young rabbit before getting closer to where the teen lay on the ground and knelling down. He took a one quick glance over him before his open hand rested down upon Sonic's forehead, taking in how much he was sweating and how flushed his pale sickly face had become.

Sonic couldn't help but let the tears roll across his cheeks and cry lowly, letting the pain, the anxiety and the fear of everything that was happening take control. He felt scared when Nack's hand lowered to his face and felt his burning cheeks, and he felt uncomfortable when the narrowed eyes traced across his body, taking in all the scars and bruises he had. It only felt worse when Nack moved his hand down onto his chest and felt the unsteady heartbeat.

Sonic raised his hand and in a feeble attempt he tried to push Nack away, only to find himself gasping in agony as the actioned caused the pain in his chest to soar. "I… I can't move" he cried out, whimpering loudly in hopes of Nack understanding, or at least caring.

As much as the man didn't seem to care though, he knew he couldn't mess around like this all day. "You cause me way too many problems freak boy. I swear if you squeal about anything when I get help I will personally throw you in the garden shredder. Got it?"

Sonic didn't know what he meant by getting help, but at this point he was willing to agree to anything. He nodded lightly, blinking tightly as a few tears were caught at the corners of his eyes. He sniffed and tried to hold back his whimpers but he couldn't.

He watched nervously as Nack slid his arms under his shoulders and under his legs before slowly standing up and lifting the hedgehog effortlessly in his arms. Sonic cried out as the motion worsened the pain, but a quick jolt from Nack adjusting him in his arms showed he had no concerns about that.

The carer ignored him completely and instead turned back to the small girl that stood and waited with big sad eyes. She looked almost lost inside that giant hoodie as the arms covered her own and trailed onto the floor. "You!" he called out, grabbing her attention. All he had to do was nudge his head forward and she knew she had to be by his side.

Nack walked on, the teenage hedgehog held in his arms wavering in pain and the small rabbit that struggled to keep up with him.

Sonic could hear the small footsteps by his head, even though he could only see the trees and sky above him, and Nack's ugly head before it all started to sway in and out and blur. "Cream… run" he whispered forcefully, his mind drifting away from consciousness. He was only snapped out of it when he felt Nack swing his injured foot against a nearby tree and screamed out at the untold torture it brought him.

"Get any ideas Candy and you'll be in a worse shape then he is" the weasel threatened, glaring down at the young girl who held her long sleeves to her eyes to wipe away the tears that started to fall. "I-I won't leave you. I promise" she replied, reaching up and taking a hold of his arm to show she would stay by his side. Though it wasn't Nack she was promising it to.

* * *

As a few hours went by, Sonic now realised what Nack had meant by getting help.

He lay on his own bed with the covers pushed to the bottom of his feet, his foot was rested upon a pillow while a large, friendly looking doctor loomed over him with a stethoscope plugged in his ears. The cold metal placed firmly against his peach coloured chest as he was told to breath in deeply a number of times. Each time Sonic did so the more painful his chest became, making every moment almost unbearable to the point he wanted to scream.

The doctor didn't seem phased by it. He carried on by sliding the stethoscope to Sonic's back and asking him to take deep breathes again.

With his chest exposed, Sonic's hands went right back to applying pressure, trying so hard to alleviate the pain. The deep breathing was now a difficult task, he couldn't steady himself properly as he was nearly in panic mode and took harsh shallow breaths.

The doctor removed the stethoscope from his ears and placed it around his neck. He took a deep sigh before his eyes also scanned the damages done to Sonic's body. "Well this doesn't look so good I'm afraid" he started tittering, "There is defiantly heart troubles going on. It's much too fast and too irregular. There doesn't seem to be a steady pattern, it's almost jumping around on its own."

Despite the pain he was facing, Sonic still stared at the doctor with disbelief, not because of what he said but because of the overly friendly tone he spoke with and the cheery smile that was plastered on his unsettling face. He wanted to make a sarcastic comment, but he just didn't have the energy to do so.

"Is he going to be okay? I'm so worried about him. Like I said he was fine last night but this morning he woke up screaming and I called you the moment I saw him" Nack spoke worriedly. He was standing on the other side of the bed, watching the doctor do his work and gently rubbing Sonic's quills reassuringly, an action that was not appreciated.

"Has he had any heart trouble in the past?" the doctor asked. Much to Sonic's surprise, Nack nodded, "Yes I believe so, he hasn't been here that long you see, but he has a medical journal, one sec" with that the weasel left the bedside and went to the almost empty shelves.

Sonic couldn't move himself to watch him, but he felt shocked and even upset that Nack had been snooping around his room and obviously read through his medical history. Then again he should have expected it.

Handing the journal over, the doctor started to read through while Nack took his original position by the bed. Sonic could only watch patiently as the friendly doctor flickered through the pages, taking in all the words. "I see, it says here you had something close to a heart attack not so long ago. Your limbs seized up and you experience chronic chest pains along with loss of breath and fainting spells. Is that correct?"

Sonic couldn't answer, all he could do was nod as his hand clutched harder against the shooting pains in his chest as it shot into his shoulder. He started to wonder if this doctor actually remembered he was in pain here or if he was more interested in wasting time doing nothing!

"Okay, we'll do a quick examination. Have you passed out recently?" again Sonic couldn't answer, instead just shaking his head this time.

"Good, very good. Now first of all can you sit up on your own?"

Sonic only shook his head, knowing fully well that he couldn't even if he wanted too. The pain he experienced in his chest was almost unreal, it felt as if a thin shard of glass was lodged under his collar bone, the tip piecing his heart and slicing off the veins. It was so intense he would often feel himself come in and out of panic as he didn't dare move, knowing it only made it so much worse.

The doctor didn't seem happy about his lack of trying however, and looked at his disapprovingly "Give it a go" he pushed.

However Sonic felt his throat close. A small stifled sob left his lips and his eyes screwed up tightly as he failed to block the fresh tears from rolling down his cheeks. "I… can't… move" he whimpered loudly, trying to explain even though it hurt just to do so.

It wasn't good enough though as the doctor pressed on, "Well how about if you lift your arms up in the air, and try to move them first. Like this" he motioned by holding his arms in the air and stretching them out.

Sonic started to feel his breathes get deeper and a lot hollower, but it wasn't because of his pain but with annoyance at not being listened to. "I said… I can't!" he snapped angrily.

The doctor didn't listen to him though, instead he took matters into his own hands. "Okay it's not that hard, all you have to do is this" he reached down and took Sonic's hand in his own. Then in a sudden swift movement he pulled the teens hand away from his chest and stretched his arm all the way out.

The instant movement was met with only one reaction. Sonic screamed out in complete agony, his eyes dilated and his face turning a sickly pale. He lashed his arm away from the doctors hold and placed it back into his original position where he felt the least amount of pain.

Lightly he wept, feeling like this torture was too much to take anymore as the frustration and fear mixed in with his pain. He felt Nack lean over and gently embraced him, reassuring that everything was okay, just as a good guardian would.

The doctor just observed as if he was making a scientific discovery, "Right, I feel for further examination we should admit Sonic into Hospital right away, we'll do a few more tests and begin treatment as soon as possible. Now according to the medical journal his last doctor was Dr. Quack, we have no problem in contacting him and letting him take the lead here."

"That won't be possible, Dr. Quack is private practice, we don't have the funds to pay for him" Nack explained. For once Sonic felt disheartened by the fact he couldn't see his old doctor. At this point a familiar face would have been nice.

"I see. Well we'll contact him for a transfer of details. Given Sonic's… special ability I'd say we needed a few experts on the job" the doctor smiled, reaching down and patting Sonic's leg, much to the teen's dismay.

"In the meantime however, Mr. Weasel it would be an idea if you called for an ambulance, tell the call operator I'm already here but we need a patient picking up. In the mean time I'll have a look at this ankle; it's not looking in the best of shape much like the rest of him."

Taking off his sock, the doctor carefully examined the mass of swollen lumps along Sonic's ankle while leaving Nack in charge of calling for an ambulance to come pick him up.

Sonic had never liked Hospitals, and now he was left wondering if this was going to be a blessing or a curse.


	33. Missing You

**Hurray I can happily say this chapter is longer then the last one :D**

**I would like to thank all my lovely reviewers, but I give a highlight to FlamingSonic who recommended my story and in turn I now have a new friend of FF so thank you so much :)**

**If anyone else has recommened this story to a friend or family memeber please let me know as... well I'm genrally nosy but its just awesome to here.**

**And now onto big news. A lot of people may (or may not... or don't care) have noticed I changed my user name. Why is this a big deal? Because the old user name I had was so old I've had it for the past five years. And for all the different authers I've met and people who have highlighted me in stories, this is the name I've been known as, I've never changed it. I even wrote my second most popular story based on that name... Don't read it, it sucks.**

**But now time has moved on, I don't even write or read Coraline fics anymore which is where the name Wybie came from, so I guess it seemed right to break the norm and use a name that was diverse for all my fics. The name may change again or it may not, this is just until I think of something cooler.**

**Ideas are welcomed lol.**

**Anyways that's all for now and I hope you enjoy the chapter :D**

**P.S. I had writers block... don't hate me, I tried my best.**

* * *

Amy sat by her bedroom window. Her knees were tucked up to her chest and she held her arms as close as she could around her small body. Streaks of black trailed down her cheeks, her lip gloss now smudged over the corner of her lips where she wiped her mouth with her arm.

She was supposed to be in School today, but today her mother told her to stay in, being too hysterical and upset at the prospect of spending another day there.

She kept staring into the room opposite from hers, in the big fancy house that her mother always complained about, claiming it was too modern for this neighbourhood. It wasn't often she could see into the room only a few steps away from hers. Normally the curtains were closed shut on her side but open for the window facing outside the house.

This time the curtains were opened, and nearly everything was placed in boxes.

She didn't know how long she had been watching his room, but she knew it was a few hours at least. No one had seen the old inventor for a week now, but today she sat at her window and watched as the man walked into the bedroom, sat on Sonic's old bed and stared at everything that was left.

Amy watched the old man break down and cry. She too followed in his grief.

He was gone. She didn't know what had happened nor did she have the courage to go over and ask, but it was obvious to her that he was completely out of the picture now. He no longer went to her School, he wasn't at home… Did he run away? Or did something worse happen?

Amy just didn't know, no one did.

No one but her really cared though. After Sonic left there wasn't a single positive word about him. All his old friends hated him. They said it was for what he did, but she was starting to wonder if this had been an underline built up of feeling for a while now. They have started to dig up a lot of stories from the past.

Apparently Mrs. Winters had quit now. Whether she got a new job or not no one knows. She just didn't want to go back was all everyone knows.

Who could blame her? Sonic hurt her, he hurt Tails, he hurt everyone that was around him, and he especially hurt Amy.

Yet… She missed him so much.

The pink hedgehog breathed deeply as she continued to stare into the empty looking room. She thought back to when she was there, hanging out with Sonic and Tails. They laughed together, made stupid jokes and helped each other out like it was no big deal, like they were real friends. Then she had to listen to Rouge though. She had to sneak away for that password book and ruin everything. She should never have gotten involved, she should have just left him alone and stayed away.

And still, even after the word accused him of being a monster, she still missed him so much. He treated her like a doormat but she didn't even care. Maybe she had low self-respect, or she was desperate to be popular like he was… No. It was none of that. She just loved him.

When he used to wave at her threw the window years ago. When he one time asked her for help and was truly grateful, and even when he just smiled at her. He was the most handsome guy she had ever seen in the whole world and his smile made her warm inside. So even when he slowly changed from the shy quiet boy to the most arrogant brute in the School, she still wanted him, regardless of who he was or how he acted.

There was no other way of explaining it. She had to be with the boy she fell in love with because there was no other guy on this planet that would do.

That was how she used to think though. She had hoped he would change for her but… The one time she thought she got her dream come true… she lost it just as quickly.

Amy was miserable now. She constantly stared at her phone, her finger hovering over the call button under Sonic's name. She wanted him back so badly, or even just to talk to him. She wanted to ask him about Jet's party, she had wanted to ask for a while now. What did he mean when he said _She's hurting me? _It played in her mind again and again, often forgetting everything he told her. What was he talking about? Why was he so hysterical? Amy wanted to carry on that subject ever since but the way things played out she could never bring it up.

It felt like it was too late now… is it?

New tears fell again, her phone shook in her hands. Making her mind up, she knew she would break down if she heard his voice, but she just wanted to know he was okay… or alive.

She made the call... but there was no answer.

* * *

At School in the Science lab he was regularly known to be in, Tails sat at his work bench, tapping a pen excessively against the solid metal while chewing another pen in his mouth. His laptop was placed directly in front of him and he had been keeping himself busy searching and hacking the School's computer system as he waited for the others arrival.

Using a few new codes here and there he managed to dig around and unlock a file containing the schematics of the whole School, showing where each and every room was in the building. The task should have been easy for him but the security behind all the systems had been extremely hard to crack. He had never seen anything like it before, it made him wonder if Robotnik had designed it himself given he was head of Science and specialised in military armed forced weaponry.

Even the schematics were complicated though. Nothing looked straight forward in these diagrams.

The door to the lab was opened abruptly, and Tails minimised the files he was looking at in case it was a teacher that walked in. Fortunately it was only Knuckles.

"Hey how did it go?" he asked, feeling relieved but eager to get straight to business. Knuckles however already looked defeated as he shook his head and sighed, "Before you start complaining and spouting a load of geek talk I actually tried everyone okay. I asked around the nerd club, I asked the janitor, I went to head teachers who only got suspicious and when all hope was lost I went to Eggman himself and asked, but he just told me to mind my own business. No one will tell me where the security cameras lead too."

Upon hearing the news, Tails groaned loudly and threw his head against the metallic table, only just missing his laptop and over miscellaneous items. "This is so hard! It should be easier to find the security footage than this and we've searched everywhere. Seriously where could it be?" he complained with frustration rising in his voice. Knuckles didn't do much to help, he just crossed his arms and huffed "I don't know what to suggest, if we keep snooping around someone might get suspicious."

Full of negativity, Tails picked himself up and went back to his laptop to bring up the schematics once more. He stared at them, giving full concentration to it, but nothing. There was every classroom and every office but nothing to show a security camera room. He didn't know what to think… Until he finally thought about what Knuckles actually said. "Wait, maybe we don't have to snoop around. If we just tell Robotnik what we're doing and why we think it's worth looking at the security footage then maybe he'll help us!" the young kid thought aloud, excited by his own idea.

Knuckles wasn't completely convinced though, "I don't know if that's such a great idea kid. Think about it, Eggman runs this whole School, if the School looks bad, he looks bad. He does everything to make sure all students get a perfect record. Apparently he's been covering Sonic's act from his Uncle for a while now, so Sonic said anyway. You really think he's going to be happy if we go to him and say one of his favourite teachers staged the attack to have Sonic kicked out? I don't think he'd believe us."

Tails was again back to square one, feeling dishearten by the constant problem findings of the older teen, "Well maybe, but it could be worth a shot" he tried to reason, Knuckles wasn't agreeing though.

"Trust me I've been here a lot longer then you kid, for a while I've seen Eggbreath cover up a lot of issues to keep records straight. Rumour went around he fixed a few of the tests so everyone passed because the board of directors came around, and another one was that he covered for a teacher when he slapped one of the students for not being quiet. Seriously, he's not the typical teacher you take your problems to."

For a moment Tails just stared at him, completely surprised by the new information. He hadn't really seen much of Robotnik so he didn't know what the man was really like. He always assumed he was the typical kind of principal, but apparently not. This left them both with very little ideas, "Well what do you suppose we do now?" Tails asked, "Without any proof how are we going to clear Sonic's name?"

Knuckles looked away. He knew the kid wanted the hedgehog's forgiveness but without seeing Sonic lately it all seemed kind of silly now… unless… "We need to find Sonic."

Tails paused, feeling his eyes grow wide, "But I thought you said…"

A large grin grew across Knuckles face before the fox could finish his sentence, "I know, but if there's one girl in this whole School that can find him and who would be more than willing too, it's Rosey the Stalker."

* * *

He didn't know if it was just because of bumping his head on the ground or if he was completely losing his mind, but Sonic felt like he was about to die.

Sonic hated Hospitals more than anything he could have thought of. It turned out though that he hated needles even more.

He lay on the treatment table, surrounded by too many doctors and nurses pinning him down as he fought against them. He was hooked to several monitors, the sound of his frantic heart beats being drowned out by his own screaming as he lashed his arms around trying to get off the bed.

They had him stuck though, and in the end he couldn't fight it. He was on the verge of feeling like his heart was going to explode in his chest, he couldn't handle the strain that moving around quickly was putting on him. He had already endured the tests and ex-rays he was forced through and in the end of it all they said it would be a while wait until they get results, giving him only mild painkillers for the time being while they dealt with the issue of his foot.

So now he had to endure this, after painful prodding and awkward tests he was held down like a wild animal with no help from anyone. And it felt like there was nothing he could do.

So he just threw his head back into his pillow and finally gave up. All he could do now was squeeze his eyes close and cry fearfully as the doctors took advantage of his moment of weakness.

A couple of them gently yet forcefully moved Sonic so he was lying on his side, leaving his leg completely exposed while others held him in place, knowing that letting go of him now could result in a new round of attempting escape.

A pillow was already placed under the swollen ankle that was now bonded with cooling wraps, but the main doctor that was originally treating the young hedgehog decided to place another one between the youth's knees, making the leg more comfortable while propping it up higher.

Sonic was petrified. He refused to open his eyes despite the fact all he could feel was hands all over his body pinning him down to a bed and restricting him to virtually no movement. He felt the doctors move his legs around to position them and he felt like they would never stop touching him.

Sonic didn't know what else to do, his voice broke as he held open his un-gloved hand so that anyone could hold it, "I want Chuck…" he cried out pitifully, begging for any one of their attention as they all just acted like robots doing as they were programmed to do. "Please, I just want my Uncle" he started to sob, feeling like no one was listening or that no one cared. All he wanted was the one person that made him feel safe, why was that too much to ask?

Surprisingly he felt a soft hand slowly slip into his and squeeze it tight. Opening his eyes he didn't see his Uncle, but saw one of the nurses that had lowered herself down to face him, holding onto his hand with both her own and giving him a warm smile. "It will be okay sweetheart" she spoke gently, her voice being smooth and sweet.

Sonic only stared at her, unable to believe the words she said. He hadn't expected anyone to realise he was actually afraid, never mind do anything about it. But now she was here, holding his hand and gently rubbing the side of his face, distracting him from the many hands and pain to come.

"Listen to me okay. It's not going to hurt that badly, it will only take five minutes at the most. There's too much fluid in your legs, and it's causing the extreme swelling in your ankle. This needs to be done" the young purple fox nurse kindly, trying to reason with the stubborn hedgehog. Sonic wasn't buying any of it though as he groaned miserably, "D-does it have to b-be a needle though?... Isn't there a-anything else?"

"Afraid not" was his response, which was not what he wanted to hear. Not wanting to face it alone, he stopped the nurse from standing back up by pulling her hands closer to him and burying his face into her arms, shaking under the hold of any the other doctors as he waited for it to be over with.

She hadn't protested, instead she did what she could and made sure he felt secure holding her arms and hiding away as the doctor approached the bedside with the large syringe Sonic had caught sight of moments ago before having to send out a cry for help from several doctors and nurses.

Even though he hid himself away in her arms, his frightful voice soon trembled out when the doctor wiped down the area on his leg where he was about the insert the too-large-a needle, "I'm really scared" he humbly admitted. The nurse gently shushed him soothingly, tracing the line of his chin as she felt the small drips of water beads join together and fall onto her hand.

The needle was inserted, and Sonic passed out.

* * *

When he woke up the room was surprisingly dark. His eyes opened and closed gingerly while soft painful moans escaped his lips. Everything looked blurry. There was only a light by the side of him but it was mostly blocked out by a large circle that kind of loomed over him.

Sonic rubbed his eyes, feeling confused as to where he was. There was no beeping from the heart monitors, he wasn't sure but he didn't think he was wired up to anything.

When he could finally focus on what was around him, the first thing he saw was a sweet young face that smiled at him excitedly, "You're awake!" the high pitched voice squealed out, making the boy cringe in pain as it set of a splitting headache.

Reaching up to his head, Sonic groaned loudly at the throbbing heat waved that danced along. To his surprise though when he moved his arms the pain in his chest wasn't there anymore, "What the… when did that happen?" he slowly questioned, sitting himself up. Looking around the room he realised he was still in the Hospital after all. He was wired up and the heart monitor was still bleeping away, only this time slowly and steady.

"The doctor said you were okay now. Do you feel better?" in the moment of looking around Sonic had almost forgotten about the little girl that sat on the bed beside him. He rubbed at his head, still feeling that things were unclear, "Ugh… I'm fine. Cream how did you get here? What happened?"

The bunny rabbit edged a bit closer and placed her small tiny hands into his big ones, "You saved me from Nack remember? But they said you had a poorly heart and you needed to get it fixed. You've been asleep for days" she answered, catching Sonic off as he nearly fell back to his pillow, "for days?" he whispered, dumb-struck by how that was possible.

"I kept asking Nack if I could see you but he never let me until now, he wanted someone to hold his coffee in the car. The doctor said you could go home when you woke up, so maybe that will be today" she cheered, getting excited again at the idea of her friend coming home.

The ringing in his ears made Sonic realise that her excessive cheeriness was not helping his head in the slightest. "Cream just… stay quiet okay" he asked, his voice sounding sore and dry. He took a few moments to get his thoughts together, to try and realise what was going on.

The last thing he remembered was that large needle…

Instantly Sonic pulled the blankets away from his legs and checked that they were still attached to his body. He sighed in relief. There was a big cast on his foot, blocking it from harm's way and on his leg there was a plaster from where the needle was inserted. They seemed fine now, he didn't feel much pain, it was all numb for now.

Leaning back and propping himself on his arms, Sonic blew a deep breath from out of his lips feeling as if a new weight had been lifted.

The young girl beside him looked down, her fingers tangling with each other as she shyly forced herself to speak up. "Sonic…" she started, sounding sad and worried. She easily got his full attention as he waited for her to continue.

"I just… I want to say thank you for what you did for me. None of the others in the orphanage look out for me like you do. They all say that is Nack is busy with one of us then he leaves the others alone, and that's how they treat me. But you don't do that" she paused for a moment and finally looked up, staring deep into Sonic's eyes as he listened to her curiously.

"You saved me. You put yourself in danger when no one else would. Thank you Sonic, you're my hero!" she cried out joyfully with small tears in her eyes before she leapt towards him, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him as hard as she could.

He had every intention of holding her back, and telling her it was nothing to worry about, but instead Sonic yelped loudly and pushed her away, "Cream! Get off!"

Startled by his outburst, Cream shuffled away from him. Her eyes grew wide fearfully while her hand was placed over her mouth, terrified of what she had done.

Sonic had closed his eyes, his hand resting on his bandaged up chest as he took deep breathes, trying to ease himself through the returning sensation of burning that drilled across his chest.

"I'm sorry!" Cream burst into tears, sobbing into her hands thinking it was her fault he was hurt. Sonic reached out his hand and took a hold of her arm, slowly bringing her closer until she was sat onto his lap, "No… n-no it's not you. I'm sorry Cream, didn't mean to yell" he admitted, placing a light arm around her shoulders and letting her lay on his shoulder, away from the side of him that hurt. "I-It wasn't my fault?" she whined, her small hands gripping onto his arm as she stared up at him.

"No, it wasn't you. I just have a bad heart is all" he laughed.

A small, meaningful smile tugged at the corners of the little girls lips as she wiggled her hand back into his, "No. You have a good heart, it's just broken."

His smile couldn't have been wider as a small jeer escaped his lips, "Come here" he wrapped his arms around her small frame, carefully holding her as close as he possibly could without causing pain. When she held him back and closed her eyes peacefully, Sonic lay his head on the top of hers.

He smiled, grateful he finally had someone. But the smile soon faded. His brow creased together as an unsettling frown deepened across his muzzle. Water pooled from the corners of his eyes and slowly trailed down his cheeks.

He was broken, even Cream could see it. What did he have now? Other than the girl in his arms, he had nothing. She was all he had left, and he didn't want to let her go.

The door to his room opened, and he no matter how prepared he could have been, he never expected to see this familiar face again.


	34. Informal Checkup

**I'm back! And I know you've all been dying to know who the familier face is. **

**I won't leave it any longer so thank you for the reviews, you're all awesome, I was tired when I wrote the end of this chapter so please don't hate.**

**On with the fic!**

* * *

Blinking widely it felt like almost unreal as the elderly man stood there with his arms crossed behind it back and his usual look of impatience Sonic was often met with. The only times he had ever seen Dr. Quack was at his practice and while wearing his white coat. Now however he was without the stethoscope and seeing him in a Hawaiian shirt was almost surreal.

"Dr. Quack? What are you doing here?" the blue hedgehog asked, watching as a slight smile pulled at the corner of the man's beak.

Cream didn't make the connection. She pulled herself away from the older teen and stared up at the stranger cautiously, "Sonic who's this?" she asked shyly.

The new man gave her a small smile before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a red lolly pop. He handed it to the small girl, but before she took it she looked up to her friend to see if it was okay. When he nodded in approval she happily accepted the present.

"I always keep one with me just in case. That was actually for you, in case you tried to run away again" he explained to Sonic, taking a seat by the side of the bed.

The hedgehog still felt almost shell-shocked, not understanding why the man was here, so he asked again, "What are you doing here?"

The doctor held up his hand, besetting any worries the teenager may have had, "Don't worry it's not for business, I'm here as a visitor. When they contacted me for information they told me you were in bad shape. Decided to come see for myself" was all he said, before his eyes slowly drifted to the young rabbit who happily chewed at her lollypop.

Sonic immediately got the hint, he placed his hands onto the girl's shoulders and whispered into her ear "Hey would you mind waiting outside for a few seconds, just so we can talk?"

"Okay" she sadly yet politely agreed before jumping off the bed and leaving the room.

Now completely alone, Sonic shuffled himself back into his pillow, keeping his legs crossed and head down, "I guess you came to say I told you so huh?" he asked spitefully, suddenly taking a hostile approach.

"Now now, not at all, though I did warn you this could happen and you being the stupid twit you are decided to not listen to the doctor" he replied dryly, only making Sonic's attitude worse as the teen started to sulk.

"I was doing fine, there's nothing wrong with me!"

The doctor was so convinced though as he turned his head slightly to the side, "Oh really? Nothing's the matter? Those scars on your arm look fairly new, how'd that happen?"

Consciously Sonic hid his arm out of sight, hiding all of the new and more recent series of cuts that ran along his skin. He hid them under the blanket and looked away to the wall, not wanting to face anyone and still feeling emotional from the things Cream said to him before. "You don't understand… no one does" he tried to shout, but his voice broke down on him as he tried to stay as strong as possible.

Dr. Quack sighed, somehow actually expecting this. He stood up from his chair and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Seeing his former patient tense up when he got close, he placed his arm around the boys shoulders and pulled him close, resting his head onto his shoulder before using his spare hand to close the open gap.

The tears fell down flushed and red patched cheeks while the boy held onto the doctor as much as he could, small weeping chokes fell from his lips. "Does Uncle Chuck miss me?" he cried, rubbing his puffy eyes with the back of his hand.

Quack didn't reply straight away, he instead brushed a few of the boy's quills back into their place. "I checked in on him when I found out. He didn't say much, but he's not himself."

It wasn't the answer Sonic wanted but it was the answer he was getting. He buried his face away, only clutching the doctor's arms as a way to relieve his emotions. "It's not fair… I-I'm not a bad person… I know I went too far, b-but I-I…" he couldn't finish his sentence. He broke down and let the doctor take over.

"No I know. I never thought you were a bad kid. You're stupid I'll give you that."

"That's not helping!" Sonic cried out, angrily turning to look up at the doctor who only held amusement in his eyes when he looked back. "Alright not stupid, you're a wimp. I couldn't believe it when Dr. Benson told me. You actually passed out over a tiny needle."

"It wasn't tiny! It was huge and it drained things!" Sonic fought back, getting completely defensive.

"Oh please, I bet it's no different from the last time you had to have a needle. You got so worked up I had to bring out the butterfly needle we use on babies and when I did finally get you pinned down you bit the nurse."

"Oh come on! That was years…"

"That was six months ago."

Sonic couldn't help but laugh, even though all the misery he was going through. He slowly pulled away from the doctors hold and rubbed at his eyes once again, his face staring down at the pile of blankets and the large cast his foot was in. His fingers started to play with the bandages wrapped around his chest, his curiosity wanting to know more about what happened.

"Did they tell you anything else? Like how they stopped the pain in my chest?" he asked, his voice sounding more settled and calm.

"They gave you surgery. Turns out you were at greater risk then they thought, though of course any idiot should have been able to see that, but never mind. Whenever you run you apply more strain and more pressure on yourself and it's more than your heart can take. They needed to bring your heart beat down a few notches, and luckily everything went successful. Had it not been you would be lying in a box right now instead of a hospital bed" the doctor explained, going back into his work mode tone as he almost sounded lecturing then caring.

Sonic was stunned, not having realised how at risk his life truly was. He thought the whole stop running thing was just a stupid over reaction, he didn't realise it was this intense.

"So… does that mean I really can't run anymore?" he asked, but dreaded to hear an answer.

The doctor brushed his hand under his chin for a moment before standing up from the bed side and facing the blue teen instead. "For now yes. You need rest and time to recover, from more things then just this. In time you'll probably be able to run again, so long as your organs are functioning well and you aren't putting yourself at risk anymore" he said, eyeing up all the scars and bruises exposed onto Sonic's frail looking body.

The teen looked down at himself, remembering that the last the doctor saw him like this he had blamed it all on himself… but Quack hadn't believed him.

"… it wasn't me" he finally confessed.

The doctor raised his brow, but not with surprise as he stood patiently, waiting for the teen to carry on.

Sonic suddenly felt nervous, "Well… my teacher, the one I got accused of attacking… She…" he looked up at the man, a small shiver running up his spine. Was it really worth explaining? It wasn't like she was the problem anymore… Nack was.

He made up his mind, knowing that this confession was probably the scariest and hardest thing he would ever have to say in his whole life.

"I… I need help now. Nack, o-our caretaker… he's hurting me. And not just me but Cream too, all the other kids, he's abusing us all!" he burst out, suddenly pleading and sounding frantic for help.

But to his worst fears, he watched the doctor only look away with what only could be irritation and disbelief as he rubbed at his eyes. "Sonic, is this like the time you accused all of my medical staff of attacking you in different ways, a lot of which you made up because you didn't like the examination process?"

Sonic felt his heart sink to his stomach and could only stare in horror as the man crossed his arms and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Sonic do you really think making up wild stories like this is going to result in Chuck coming back for you? I'm sorry but it isn't going to work like that."

"No no no…" He couldn't speak anymore, he felt his throat close up and he wasn't sure if he was even breathing at this point.

But the doctor had more to say, "Really you should be ashamed of yourself. Nack works hard in providing for you and the rest of the children in the orphanage, maybe you'd have less problems if you appreciated it more."

Sonic wanted to break down and cry, he wanted to run for a thousand miles and never return home, he wanted to cut off his arm! All he could do was sit and listen to the disappointment of the older man who brushed his confession as mere lies for attention.

"It's true! I'm not lying about it!" he tried to reason but Quack didn't believe him. The doctor went as far as to cut him off before he could try to explain again, "Sonic enough. You've played this game a long time and it's gotten you nowhere. Just… rest and get well soon" was all he said before he turned away and walked towards the door.

Sonic tried to scramble off the bed, but when he moved to far he felt all the wires tug him back, forgetting he was hooked up to different machines. "Wait!" he called out, ripping off all the attachments that were keeping him from leaving the bed. They were all finally off and he rushed after his former doctor, but the door was closed on him, leaving him alone in almost darkness had it not been for the dim night light.

He stood there robotically, too many thoughts and feelings playing around his head for him to truly understand what he was feeling. His chest started to rise rapidly, and he could hear his own pulse increasing through his ears.

Before he knew it he was suddenly angry. Out of seemingly nowhere Sonic became increasingly tense, and whilst baring his teeth he threw his head into his hands and screamed loudly.

His fingers parted widely and scratched through his quills and during his anger he gripped onto loose blue strands before ripping them straight from the roots of his head, pulling out clumps of quills before letting them fall to the floor.

He never stopped screaming from the back of his throat as his arms painfully lashed out and knocked over a nearby table. He rushed over to the heart monitor that stopped recording his pulse rate and he grabbed it, throwing it to the ground and watching it as it smashed into pieces.

As the monitor sparked out, Sonic inhaled heavily, standing and watching it with hatred burning upon his face. It wasn't long that he felt another stab in his chest, the painful twisting of split that punctured his heart, and instantly Sonic reacted by falling. He fell to the side of his bed, a hand reaching out to support himself as his legs became paralyzed. His other hand clutched at his chest where the pain was too intense for him to handle.

He rested his head onto the side of the bed, knowing he had to be as immobile as possible until the pain could pass, if it ever would.

He hadn't heard the door opening as his mind was too preoccupied. But he felt two small arms curl around his neck softly while a round face rested upon his shoulder, nudging into his cheek.

Sonic didn't need to worry who it was as two small lips pressed up against his cheek. He reached his trembling hand to the young girl's arm and gave her a small appreciative embrace, letting her hold him as close as possible.

Cream leaned her head against his, feeling his shoulders hitch against her small frame as the older boy struggled to breathe. "I think the nurses are coming to help you" she tried to reassure, brushing her hand along his arm.

"I'm… I-I'm sorry… I tried to tell him about Nack" Sonic stuttered, shaking his head shamefully. The young rabbit quietly gasped, knowing how much of a dangerous risk that was. "Sonic, Nack is a really nasty man. He said if we told anybody what he did that he'd hurt us. I'm really scared" she cried fearfully, her voice growing higher in pitch.

Moving her away, Sonic turned around and let himself slip to the floor, struggling to keep himself steadied with his frantic beating heart. Cream knelled down next to him, not letting him be alone when he still struggled to breath. "He didn't believe me… no one is going to."

* * *

Lying on her bed, Amy did nothing but stare up at the ceiling above her. Earphones covered her ears and the music from her phone blared loudly into her ears. All the songs she had listened too were love songs, soppy romances of guys who declared their love for the most special girl in their lives. She liked to imagine it was Sonic singing those words to her, in a meadow, surrounded by flowers… on their wedding day.

Everything had been that way and she had no reason to think it would change any time soon. But from the corner of her eyes, she noticed something moving by her window.

She only looked for a second, but instantly she screamed out with a startled fright and jumped up to her feet when she saw a red echidna open her window and clumsily fall into her bedroom.

"Knuckles! What are you doing here!?" she screamed out, picking up a nearby collectable piko piko hammer she kept as a décor piece by her bedside and threatening him with it.

The echidna immediately raised his hands in defence, "Whoa whoa hey chill out!" he cried out, a small bead of sweat running down his forehead.

"Why are you in my room?" Amy questioned him impatiently, raising the hammer higher to show she wasn't messing around. Knuckles actually forgot how intimidating she could be, "I knocked at the door but no one answered. Your light was on and you didn't answer when I threw rocks at the glass."

"So you thought it would be okay to break in?"

"It's important okay! It's about Sonic."

That was all he needed to say before Amy dropped her hammer to her bed and walked closer to the echidna, offering her hand to help him up. "Sonic? Why, what's going on?"

Standing up and brushing himself off, Knuckles started to explain "I'll keep it short Rosey, I want to find Sonic and you seem to have a knack for finding him no matter how much he hides."

With a scowl, Amy turned her back and crossed her arms before marching back to her bed and sitting down. "Why?" she snapped.

Knuckles however seemed sceptical himself, "That's my business. We need to talk to Sonic and to do that it would help to know where he is."

Amy raised her brow, not liking what she was hearing so far, "Then call him."

"You think I haven't tried that? He won't answer to anyone, and the old man won't let anyone see him" Knuckles argued, rolling his eyes as they drifted to the window, looking over to the window next door where the curtains were closed.

"Huh?" the pink girl exclaimed, her eyes following along his gaze. She took a deep breath as she stared at the window that held nothing but an empty room behind it, "Sonic doesn't live there anymore. His Uncle packed everything away a while ago."

Knuckles was almost frozen. He turned and stared at the pink hedgehog with wide eyes, "You serious?" he cried out, his jaw completely dropped.

"What does it matter to you anyway? It's not like you guys didn't have a hand in this" Amy accused, looking at the echidna like he was the scum of the planet.

Offended, Knuckles scowled at her lowly and raised his voice, "Oh and you didn't? If you ask me you've been acting a little too innocent over the past month or so. You just so coincidently managed to get on Sonic's good side just before Sally dumped him? Not only that but after you finally got your little stalkerish wish you made it look like he was attacking you as well, so who really is to blame here?"

Amy couldn't answer him. On one side she wanted to burst into tears and confess everything, but her rasher side got the best of her. "Well I didn't see you guys showing any support to him when he was almost begging for help, all of you just told him to stop showing himself up and made it out that everything was his fault! Sally included! Some friends you guys are, so who's really to blame huh?"

They both came to a standing point where neither of them had any more to say. Glaring each other down as a silent fight filled into the brightly coloured room.

But then Knuckles thought for a moment, something finally registering in his mind that she said. "Wait… you don't believe he did it either did you?"

"You don't?" she burst, feeling like she had just met the only other person that may have the same doubts she did. She scrambled up from her bed and walked closer to him, forgetting the tenseness of their argument before. "You think he didn't do it don't you?" she asked.

Knuckles looked at her for a moment, unsure how much he could trust her with something like this. "Well… Tails didn't. He found something that suggested Sonic might have been framed."

"Really?" Amy gasped, for a moment excited that not everyone believed those horrible rumours. But then she remembered how she had a hand in all of it, and remembered how little she should be getting involved now if she wanted to keep out of trouble. "What are you planning on doing… if you find Sonic?" she asked, still wanting to at least help.

"Talk to him I guess, see he's okay and give us his side of the story. But we have no idea where he is now. I thought the old man had just locked him away, I didn't think he'd actually left home!" the teenage boy contemplated, once again staring at the window as if it would give him much needed answers.

Amy sighed a little, knowing it wasn't what she should be putting herself into. But she couldn't help it, she wanted to find Sonic too. "How can I help?"

Knuckles finally smiled, glad he was getting cooperation, "Find him for us, just tell us where he is so we can find out what happened. We might be able to clear his name, then ideally he could come home I guess."

Amy thought about it for a moment, but it almost seemed too good to be true. There was no way it was going to be as easy as that, but if the others were making the effort she could at least give it ago. "I'll see what I can do, but no promises."


	35. Tired After Dark

**Hello my lovelies. I'm back with a shiny new chapter :D**

**Want to say a big hello to Admiralkirk who has finally caught up the story lol. Now you all get to know what happens all together and enjoy the waiting time for the next chapter.  
**

**So saying nothing else, sorry for grammer/misswording/not being a good writer and enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

I hadn't been too long before Sonic received what should have been good news. Unfortunately for him it was just the kick he needed to his injury. The doctors had given him the all clear, amazed at how quickly his body was healing and allowed Nack to take him back home.

It was only his first day back and already he was put to work.

The doctor had issued bed rest over the next few weeks and regular check-ups, along with prescribed medication. As soon as he had arrived home however it was decided by Nack that he had to earn his medication with hard labour.

In fact it was a deal all the children in the orphanage had to endure.

So on his first day back, which was supposed to be a day of lying in bed and caring for his heart, Sonic was down on his hands and knees scrubbing away at the wooden floorboards with only a small cleaning brush and soapy water. His back had been arched for so long that he felt like it would break if he stood up. The palms of his hands were bruised and small cuts formed on his knees where he scuffled around to get this job done. He had the entire floor of the first floor to clean in every room. He wasn't allowed to miss a single spot, it all had to be scrubbed, washed, soaped up, scrubbed again and finished off with a wash. The cleaning had to be to an impossible standard, to the point where it was impossible for any percentage of germs to be alive. It had to be immaculate. And this was done three times a day.

There was a reason the authorities loved this orphanage so much. There was a reason they would over look some strange sights and ignore any inclination of a problem that may be. It was because the orphanage itself was something of beauty.

Every room was clean. Not just regular it looked tidy clean, but real clean. Clean to the point where throwing your food onto the floor or wiping it down on the windows didn't seem so disgusting because it was so radiant in cleanliness that hygiene and bacteria couldn't possibly be an issue. This was just in the main area though; this was in every room going. The living room, the dining room, kitchen, even the bedrooms, everything had to be and was perfect. Nack wouldn't let it be any other way.

All the potential parents thought it was him, even though he liked to point out the children enjoy lending a hand, making him seem like the perfect role model.

At this moment as Sonic spent his fourth hour finishing up on only the second floor, Nack was in the living room, the TV blurting out something that sounded like a comedy while he laughed his head off with his feet up upon the table. Surrounding him were all the other children who were forced to be hard at work. He had them do everything, the dusting, the mopping, cleaning the utensils, polishing the oak railings, steaming out the carpets, hand washing all the laundry, mowing the garden, painting the patio door, shining up the door knobs, taking out all the cutlery and cleaning each individually, steam cleaning in the bathrooms, sweeping off the furniture's, removing the light bulbs in each room and cleaning all of them, taking each book of the shelves and dusting through the pages… the list was near endless.

But they had to do it. They all had to do their job and get it done or nobody would be allowed to eat that night.

Sonic didn't argue with it. He by far didn't enjoy this manual labour but it wasn't something he wasn't used too. Normally if he could use his speed then it would be done a lot quicker, sadly his ankle wasn't healed enough yet and he doubted his heart could take it.

He didn't have much to pass his time; just continued to scrub away at the floor knowing the right standard he had to reach and curing that he wasn't there yet.

Luckily he was working in the hallway now and Cream had been assigned stair polish. What should have been a normal ten minute job had to take hours as the young girl was only given a tooth brush and a pot of varnish. She had to scrub the whole of the staircase with this toothbrush, using nothing more than soap and water because apparently it was cheaper. Then when she finished that she had to paint the varnish all over, only Nack decided it would be funny to not let her have a brush and told her to use her hands. The fumes were nearly suffocating her. Still, the job had to be done.

There were a few other of the kids around, but they all mostly kept their heads down and tried to get on with the jobs they were assigned with, wanting to be finished as soon as possible.

Cream would sent him little waves now and then but they didn't really talk, Nack wasn't happy if they did.

There were a lot of things Nack wasn't happy about that could land each and any of them in trouble. Unfortunately Sonic had spotted one.

Gasping as a rush of panic raced through him, the blue teen quickly threw his brush into the bucket of water and ran to the small boy that could have been no older than four, who hand paint covering all over his little hands and had carelessly pressed them up against the patterned wallpaper.

"Jessie! What have you done?" Sonic cried quietly, desperate that Nack didn't hear the small growing commotion. The young boy only looked up at him, his eyes widened in terror as he realised the mistake he had made and not knowing what he could do. "I-I'm sorry" he whimpered, cowering lowly as an undeniable fear took over him.

Sonic wasn't listening though, he hurried over to a nearby duster and rushed back to the wall, dropping to his knees once again before profusely scrubbing at the paint marks, praying he could save the wallpaper before it was too late.

Only it didn't, the stains smudged and made the paper look worse. He could only stare at it, his jaw completely dropped while his mind went blank, not knowing what to do next. He felt the strain pull in his chest and instantly knew if it wasn't sorted he might end up back in the hospital.

Looking around he eyed the water bucket and rushed to it, dropping the duster inside to get it fully drenched. He lifted it out just as fast but before he could move away, a firm hand clasped down onto his wrist and stopped him. When Sonic looked up, he feared the man he saw, but the purple weasel wasn't even looking at him.

Instead his cold eyes fixated on the smeared mess of paint on an other-wise clean wall. Tossing the blue hedgehog to the side, he marched forward, ascending upon the young toddler that quivered under his tyrant like sneer.

"I-I'm really sorry" the young child cried, tears slowly streaming down his face. Nack showed no compassion towards him though. "You did this you little wreck? You ruined my perfect wall!?" his voice boomed out, leaning down so his face was only inches away from the terrified child. Before anything else was said, Nack leaned down and picked the boy up from under his arms, holding him out like he was filthy. "Let me get this straight to you pipsqueak. One strike and you're out. You gotta pay for this!"

He held the child who screamed and threw his arms around as he walked to the stairway, leaving all the other children to watch and learn a lesson as they could only imagine what he was about to do. A few of the kids even stepped out of his way while Jessie pleaded for someone to help. But what could they do? No one ever stood up to Nack.

"Hey, leave him alone!"

No one who wasn't stupid ever stood up to Nack.

Sonic was hot on the weasels tail, even though the man never paid any attention to his outcry. Nack was at the top of the stairs and turned to go into a room before Sonic grabbed onto his arm and tried to snatch Jessie away from him.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing you rat!"

"Just stop it! He's only a kid, he didn't realise what he was doing!"

As much as he tried, the argument was pointless. Enraged at his interference Nack, haven adjusted Jessie to one arm, used his now free hand to grab the scruff of Sonic's neck. He pushed him down the hall to a small closet and threw the teenager inside, making sure the door was shut and locked up tight.

Now being left in a small dark space that he had known all too well, Sonic felt his throat close up as he panicked to breath. His fists balled up and he pounded on the door, begging to be let out. Nothing. No sound was heard, only the beating of his heart as he knew that getting wound up now could result in him being forced back into that Hospital.

He couldn't let fear get to him this time, so Sonic leaned against the door, it being the only thing he was sure about in this room, and curled himself into a ball. He rested his head onto his knees and rocked slightly, giving himself a way to move. He closed his eyes and pretended to be somewhere else. Anywhere would do! Just somewhere he could visualise without being forced to face the unknown horrors that could be awaiting him in the dark space.

He tried to think of the beech. The warm sand under his toes and the soft breeze that warmed his fur, he tried to fix his mind on it so hard. But the image of a clown face covered in blood that pooled from its eyes was the only thing that was consistently popping up in his mind. A small reminder of the first time he was locked in this closet and he came across the Halloween mask Nack had planted to scare the kids with. It sure as hell worked.

Time had almost stopped and he didn't know how long he had been in there for. He had fallen asleep surprisingly and instead of being woken up by a horrific nightmare he woke up with the sound of a lock being undone. He was mostly forced awake when the hard wooden door he was leaning against pulled upon and he fell backwards.

Rubbing his head and groaning in pain, he saw Nack standing above him, his yellow eyes looming down and an amused grin upon his face, "Finally woke up Princess?"

Sonic looked around. All the main lights had been switched off apart from a few lamps and a beautiful blackness was revealed through the windows. "Wh… what time is it?" he asked, his voice feeling sore as he realised how badly he needed a drink.

"Midnight. Kind of forgot you were in there. Normally you're not as quiet as that" Nack answered, making no effort to help as the boy struggled to lift himself up off the ground with his bandaged ankle.

"Can I go to bed?" Sonic asked wearily, only praying he could catch at least just one break. But Nack shook his head, dashing any hope there was. "You ain't finished your job kidda. Every room, intense clean, get it done. Then you may go to bed."

"But it will take me all night."

"Get. It. Done!" with his final order, Nack turned his back and walked to his room going to bed.

Sonic sighed deeply, realising how much work he had ahead of him and how tired he already felt.

Around an hour later Sonic sat on the floor feeling helpless. He didn't know what he wanted to do, whether he wanted to run, or to cry, or to break something, but he was there not even half way done and still working on the same room as before. He knew he could cheat and say he gave it the ridiculous clean that Nack wanted but only briefly wash it down, to anyone else there wouldn't be a difference. But Nack always knew when the job hadn't been done. How is anyone's guess but he did know.

Sonic was tired, exhausted out of his mind. He struggled to keep his eyes opened and he swore if someone asked him to kill a person in exchange for a bed he would happily do it.

It wasn't much sleeping but he needed a break, to do something other than scrubbing. Having his super speed…

He paused. Looking down at his arms and his hands, a sudden weird thought that he had never considered before actually came to him and he was nearly convinced he had gone crazy.

Sonic knew he could run fast, and he could think fast when it came to numbers… but was there other things he could do?

Curiously and somewhat apprehensive, Sonic placed his cleaning brush down to the floorboards once again and started to scrub. He worked at a normal pace that was easily tiring him out before pushing past it and forcing himself to go faster… and faster… then even faster.

His arms scrubbed at that one stop repeatedly, again and again and again, each second because more rapid then before. Then suddenly his arms were just a blur, a small puff of steam floated from them as the high pitched noise of what only could be described as the sound of sonic surrounded him.

He came to an abrupt stop, holding his arms in the air and panting for his breath back. He stared down at the patch on the floor. It was completely and totally immaculate; the way Nack wanted it to be.

A large smile formed on the speedsters face as he finally had his break. He quietly started to laugh "I didn't know I could do that."

So the job that would have taken him all through the night, he finally got finished in just half an hour.

Throwing the brush into the now empty bucket, Sonic clapped the dust away from his hands and stared proudly as the floor he stood on glowed from cleanliness. And as odd a way as it was to discover he wasn't only fast in his feet, he was just as much surprised at how little his heart had reacted to him using his powers again. It was really strange because he genially didn't feel anything.

But none of it mattered because now Sonic was free to go to bed!

Placing the bucket away where it belonged, Sonic made his way to the bottom of the stairs. He almost started to climb before something strange started to tick in his mind. He was almost frozen on the spot before his head slowly turned around to look at the different rooms, the new thought growing a little bigger.

The realisation started to dawn on him, he was alone. No one was around to watch his every move and for once Nack was actually in bed, and he wasn't locked in his room. This, right now… was the only chance he might get… even though half of him didn't want to.

Making up his mind, Sonic turned away from the stairs and walked carefully down to the main office, trying to be as quiet as possible.

The main office was where every file, every report and every piece of information was kept. Nack never allowed any one to be in there but himself, unless he wanted them to be. It wasn't a place you could go to when you needed help it was a holding point, when Nack liked to point out no one would ever adopt you and showed the reasons why.

The last time Sonic was in that room his Uncle had been sitting beside him, signing the paper work so they could both go home… No enough! Change subject!

Looking around, Sonic remembered that Nack always had a spare key hidden under the plant pot that was next to the office door. He only knew this because one of the older kids told him before he was adopted. The teen could only wish that Nack was a traditional kind of guy and the key was still there…

Bingo! Taking the small key from under the pot, Sonic looked around to make sure no one had snuck up on him. It was all clear and he unlocked his way into the office.

There was nothing spectacular to distract him from his mission, it was basically just a nice room that served as a meeting point for potential parents. Wasting no time Sonic went to the small desk and opened up one of the draws, remembering from when he was in here that Nack kept personal files on all the kids.

He scrolled through past all the different folders until he landed on the one he was looking for. "Yes!" he brought the yellow folder and placed it on the table. Opening it up he looked through.

The first thing that caught his eye was the picture attacked to the top; a small young bunny rabbit that looked sadly into the camera as she missed her mother. Next to it was stacks of pages, mostly reports that Sonic didn't have time to read.

He busily searched through them all until he finally found what he was looking for. Information about her family… Nack had put it down as unknown.

"Unknown? What?" he kept looking through all the reports that should have been there and all the information but there was nothing. "That can't be right… It's like she's never had a home, nothing is written here! How does Nack get away with this?"

Sonic just couldn't work it out. Nack almost presented it as if the young girl had been here her whole life and her mother didn't even exist. She however told him something different.

For a moment the blue teen felt his heart slowly sink and he gulped, now doubting if Cream had been totally honest with him… No. This didn't prove anything.

Putting the folder away and closing the draw he started to look around, trying to find anything else that could explain what was going on. He came across all sorts but nothing that related to the mystery that was Cream.

"This is hopeless!" he cried, throwing himself down on the chair. Lazily he placed his head on his hand and stared at the computer in front of him. His good foot tiredly kicked around underneath, careless as to what was under there… it felt like a box.

Looking under the table, there was a simple small box that stood next to the trash can. Curious Sonic opened up the lid and looked inside. He was confused when he saw that it only had one item inside; an old newspaper. Picking up the paper he held it out in front of his face, flicking through the pages to see what relevance they had. Nothing stood out.

Until he came to the obituary section…

There in bold letters and a small photo of a young rabbit in a yellow dress, the words stood out to him as he felt his heart almost stop.

CREAM THE RABBIT, AGE 6, PROCLAIMED DEAD AFTER LONG SEARCH…

The picture was her… His sweet little friend Cream, holding onto a stuffed animal and smiling in her mother's arms. Sonic couldn't think, his brain had almost went into lockdown as he read the words again and again.

They thought she was dead… her mother wasn't looking for her because she believed she was dead. Why would they think that though? How did this happen? What did Nack tell them? What was going on?

Sonic didn't know what to do. He knew what he had to do but the how was difficult. He needed to find Vanilla… somehow. Had it not been nearly 2.00am in the morning he would have started looking now, but he was still really tired. His body was aching and he desperately wanted to go to bed.

Putting the newspaper away for now, he decided to leave it for tomorrow morning. Hopefully the next day he would be able to think clearly and find out what the deal was with Cream's mother. Hopefully.

Making sure everything was in its right place, so it seemed he was never there, Sonic set himself off to leave. But something flashed in the corner of his eye.

Looking back at the desk he knew he must have been tired because he hadn't even noticed that his phone was lying right next to the computer mouth and flashing away to say he had a message.

When Nack had taken his phone away he didn't know. But being away from it for so long made him curious as to who has tried to get in touch with him.

Turns out not that many.

There was a weird text message from a number he didn't recognise. All it said was;

_Welcome home… I'll see you soon._

Sonic really didn't know what to think about it, it was so random but it off putting at the same time. He didn't want to reply, just ignore it hoping it was a wrong number. Looking at what else there was, he had a few missed calls from Knuckles, but he had gotten that a lot since he left School. There were a few calls from other people in his old School, but he thought it would be safer to ignore all of them as well. He got a lot of death threat calls when he left… it was easier to ignore them instead.

The last miss call was from… Amy? Amy… called him?

His brain fussed for a moment. Why would she call him of all people? What would she want? The last they spoke was before Mrs. Winters had framed him, surely with all the rumours and hatred going around about him she would be trying to keep as far away from him.

The call baffled him completely now, all he could do was stare at her number and the small contact photo of her that he had… his finger slowly hovered over the call back option while his tired mind refused to function. Why did she call him? Was it because she was worried or was it to make sure he was really gone? Did she miss him or wanted to make it official that they broke up… did they break up? They never spoke about it. He didn't really think of her till now. Maybe he started to realise he kind of missed her… she wanted to talk to him for a reason right… Why?

Normally had he been fully awake he would have ignored and moved on, but his worn out mind kept him in a frenzy where he worried he wouldn't sleep until he knew the answer.

So randomly without even knowing it he called her back.

The phone rang a few times before going straight to voice message. Sonic told himself to leave it but that didn't work as he quickly called again, hoping she would answer this time. The phone started to ring, and after waiting a few seconds…

_"… ugh… hello?"_

She answered. Sonic felt his heart beat quickened in pace while a small flush burned his cheeks.

"Umm… H-hi… Amy… it's Sonic" he whispered nervously, knowing he still had to be quiet despite how much his brain stopped working.

_"Sonic? Oh my gosh I can't believe you called me! Why are you calling so late? Where are you? Are you okay?"_

Amy sounded a lot more awake and frantic her voice started to set off Sonic's easy irritation. He now started to wonder if calling her was the best idea.

"Yeah I'm… I'm okay"

_"Why are you whispering?"_

"Just… I just am. Anyway, um, well you called me and I just wanted to know… what's up?"

Really? He couldn't think of anything else?

_"Oh right, yeah. That was a few days ago, I've been trying to search for… I mean… I wanted to know where you're at, and to see if you're okay. I know you moved out from Chuck's house, so I'm guessing… you know."_

She sounded nervous, like she was worried about saying the wrong thing. From out of nowhere Sonic felt tears sting at his eyes but he quickly rubbed them away. However he wasn't quick enough to stop himself from choking on a small sob that in his moment of tired weakness, sounded down the phone.

_"Sonic, are you crying?!"_

"No no… no I'm not" he quickly reassured, not sounding convincing as he sniffed loudly and tried to swallow away his hitched and shaky breathes.

_"Sonic…"_

"No Amy, I'm okay. The truth is I have moved out. I'm living at Central City."

_"Oh, okay… Is there any chance I could come see you?"_

"Yeah… yeah… that would be great…"


	36. Seeing Her Again

**I'm finally back. Think this is the longest I haven't updated in a while, and that's saying something.**

**Truthfully this chapter was supposed to be a lot longer, but if I wanted to update and honestly this was such a difficult chapter to write, simply because nothing really happens. But you'll see what I mean. **

**Thank you so much for all the reviews, like seriously you guys are what make me continue and get excited about this story, so thank you so much.**

**So now please, enjoy the chapter :D**

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Morning had finally come and Sonic was shortly on his way out. With his head down and hands shoved into his pockets, nervously gripping onto the small amount of money he had been given from Nack (which he was sure was his to begin with) Sonic dragged his shoes along the busy city street, a limp visible in his step. Cream was always behind him, skipping along and kicking at the small puddles along the pavement and laughing to herself.

"Are we there yet?" she chimed out happily, asking for the seventh time that morning.

"Nearly" Sonic wasn't too bothered by it. She was complaining, just curious as to what they were doing. After all Nack told them to go to the shops and buy groceries, and yet Sonic here told her they were going someplace else.

Satisfied with the answer Cream went with her little game she created, leaving the hedgehog to be silent with his thoughts. Truthfully he hadn't stopped thinking about his conversation with Amy. The idea of the two seeing each other brought too many feelings that he didn't understand. He was afraid and excited at the same time, both for very different reasons. The weird thing is he found himself realising he kind of missed her, even if she did have a history of spying on him through his window. It felt like she was the only one that never betrayed him, he at least owed her a thank you for that.

That didn't mean he didn't think of cancelling several times however. But they were here now.

Finally stopping and looking up, Sonic was so distracted that he almost didn't feel the young girl bump into the back of his legs with a soft yelp. "What's wrong?" Cream asked after taking a moment to balance herself out.

She looked up to the older boy and found him staring widely at something ahead. So she took a look for herself. A large smile broke out on her face at what she saw.

A small little café on the corner of the street called The Sweet House was the centre of his attention. But on one of the tables, sitting quietly and patiently waiting, was a young, sweet pink hedgehog girl that quietly sipped at a vintage looking coffee cup. Cream was sure that this was who Sonic was staring at; she was the only one sitting outside and waiting.

"She's really pretty. Do you like her?" the young rabbit randomly asked, almost getting excited at the idea of Sonic having a crush on someone. Snapping into reality the older teen already knew he was feeling sweaty, but it was even more so when a deep blush formed onto his face. Only these went for any of the reasons Cream thought they were. He was just really worried about Amy was going to tell him. So he simply answered with "Yeah I guess you could say that" before making his way over to the table with Cream hot on his heels.

"Amy" he gently called out.

Sonic could only wait now as he watched the said girl look up to him, quickly rising to her feet as he approached her.

She never moved from the spot she stood on, shuffling her feet around as she looked hesitant to move closer. Sonic almost felt the same way. He stood only an arm's length away but neither of them made an effort to seal the gap in between, feeling nervous and awkward, but mostly worried the other wouldn't want that. So with a small wave, Sonic pulled off a not so arrogant grin, "H-hey" he surprisingly stuttered, now worrying that this meeting wasn't such a good idea. But the smile seemed to settle Amy as she allowed herself to relax, "It feels like it's been forever… Have you been alright? I've been really worried about you" she said, sitting back down in her chair.

Sonic pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down. Cream, much to Amy's confusion sat down on the chair next to the older boy and stared up at the pink girl with a beaming smile.

"Umm… Sonic?"

"Oh sorry, this is my friend Cream. I'm kind of babysitting her today" For once Sonic wasn't sure if that would be classed as a lie or not, but Cream didn't say anything to correct him so maybe it was somewhat accurate.

"Hello, it's lovely too meet you" the young rabbit chimed, holding out her hand to Amy. The pink twelve year old accepted the polite handshake and returned the friendly gesture, "Likewise. I didn't know Sonic was bringing you along."

While she hadn't meant anything by it, Amy wondered if she had said it in the wrong way when she noticed Sonic stare down shamefully at his folded hands; almost like he had been told off. "Sorry, I didn't really have a choice" he admitted. It almost stunned her to hear him talk that way. She had never seen her Sonic act so mildly in his life. It made her really wonder what he had been through in the past few weeks.

"It's okay, really. I just… well, I wanted to see you, to see if you were okay" Amy explained, struggling to gather her own thoughts as the pressure of the moment slowly consumed her. She had struggled the whole morning with what she would say to him, hoping that she would just know when she saw him, and now he was here she didn't have a clue. The only thing she knew not to do is mention Knuckles is looking for him. Whatever he was really up to had to be something bad, no matter what he said.

"Yeah I'm okay… I guess things have been a little crazy lately but I'm settled, everything is fine" Sonic answered her, leaning back into his chair and trying to look as cool and laid back as possible. It nearly worked as well until Cream piped up and joined in. "Sonic was recently in Hospital. He had to have an operation!"

"What?!" Amy burst out, staring at Sonic with widened eyes.

After a small glare at Cream, the teenage boy laughed forcefully. "She's exaggerating, it wasn't that big a deal. I accidently broke my ankle…"

"And you have a bad heart" she just happened to throw in, making Amy panic some more. "What's wrong with your heart? Is it serious? What happened?"

Sonic held his hands in the air, "Hey relax okay, it's nothing I just… it hasn't been easy" was all he gave her, simply shrugging his shoulders and looking away.

Amy knew talking to him wasn't going to be so easy, so she took a deep breath and made sure she thought carefully before she spoke. "Can I at least ask where you're staying? You found somewhere to go?"

"Um, yeah I guess" he wasn't giving her much to work with, but by the way fidgeted around it made her see he was feeling uncomfortable. Amy looked back at the young rabbit that stared longingly at the cup of coffee on the table, she kept wondering where this girl fitted into the picture.

She wanted to ask and she was about to, but surprisingly Sonic spoke up, even more awkwardly and uncomfortable as he rubbed his face in his hands. "I uh… I-I'm… I'm back at the orphanage."

She took a moment to allow his words to sink in.

Admittedly Sonic only worried by her silence. It took a lot for him to confess that to her but he didn't want to fill her with lies anymore. Amy might be the only person on the planet that he could confess this to and not worry about her going home and telling the whole School… or would she? Did he just make a mistake?

"I'm sorry" the pink hedgehog finally spoke, speaking in a soft whisper.

To say there was a nervous tension between the two was a massive understatement. Cream felt she could only sit and watch quietly like she was at a play.

"Sonic, I didn't realise things had been so bad. If I'd of known I would have been there and…"

"Hey it's okay, it's not like it was your fault after all, it was mine" the once arrogant teen assured her tiredly. Seeing him like this was otherworldly, it was like she made contact with the dead. Amy was totally bewildered by his new behaviour. Not once in record, history or any given second of weakness had Sonic ever admitted something with his fault.

Naturally her worry started to take over, "Well is it okay? I mean, what do you do about School? Are you getting along with people?"

Her last comment almost made him laugh a little, "You sound like a mom. Yeah it's… I haven't enrolled in a School yet, but I'm sure it will be alright. Normal School, normal life" he went on.

But Amy wasn't believing it, "Sonic. You don't have to lie to me."

"What makes you think I'm lying?" he questioned with more amusement then offence. The girl didn't have to say much because her eyes said it all, she looked at him with sympathy, "Because when you lie you act like you're happy. And it's easy to see you're not."

Sonic tried to laugh it off, but he couldn't. His cheeks started to flush and a wave of nausea hit his stomach once again. He inhaled deeply, his hands slowly starting to tremble "Okay, okay… The truth is… I don't get on well there, Cream is my only friend. My caretaker is looking at getting me into this School for troubled youths, and I was supposed to go take a look sometime soon, but because of going to Hospital and everything that's been put on hold. The Social workers only want to put me in there because I 'molested' my teacher and am now a danger to those around me" he explained will quoting what was said.

"What does molested mean?" the high pitched voice once again spoke up, making Sonic realise he forgot she was there, "Oh uh, it mean's giving a hug to someone" was the only thing he could think up, not wanting to ruin the little innocence she had left.

"Oh… I love molesting people! I molest you all the time don't I?"

"Okay stop! Stop saying that word! Just stick with hugging alright!"

Amy started to laugh, feeling that she shouldn't but unable to control herself. Sonic couldn't look at her, his face bright red as he felt completely embarrassed by what just happened. Cream seemed happy that she leant a new word.

"Sorry, she's only six" he tried to laugh along, but sadly wasn't feeling it. Moving on Sonic cleared his throat and tried to forget what just happened, "So yeah, that's basically my side of things. What's happening back at School, and with you?"

Composing herself, she got back to the conversation, "Well a lot happened I guess. The day after you got expelled Mrs. Winters quit her job."

"Seriously?!" the news hadn't been received easily, "She actually quit just as soon as I wasn't there every day?"

"Yeah, it did look a bit weird. Some people say it was because she was traumatized by what happened, and others say that… well."

Sonic felt himself grow impatient as he waited for her to finish.

"They said she was only staying around so that you two could… you know, be together."

"Wait what?" he exclaimed, taken back by the sudden suggestion. Amy felt almost like she had been the one to accuse him as she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, "It was because of that stupid rumour going around, everyone started coming up with these different stories and ideas and it was just…"

"Whoa whoa back track, what rumour are you talking about?" Sonic interrupted, feeling his temper slowly start to rise. Amy raised her hands in the air to try to calm him down a little, feeling almost afraid to say anything else, "I don't know how it started but someone spread around you two had been sleeping together for a while now and that's why you've been acting a weird. When everyone saw the two of you kissing the new gossip was that you were forcing her."

The expression on his face only proved to Amy that Sonic really could lose it at any moment. "Are you freaking kidding me!" he angrily shouted out while slamming his fist against the table loudly. She was sure he would have said more but a startled gasp from Cream made him stop. And seeing her frightened features quickly calmed him down.

"I'm sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to shout Cream" he said in almost a whisper, rubbing his face in his hands before placing them on the girls arm. Cream only held his hand back and returned him with a smile, an unsure one at that as she was almost too shook up to say anything. She didn't know why he was angry, but she only hoped he would be okay.

He turned back to Amy, "I just can't believe it. All this time my life has been falling apart and everyone thought I was…" Sonic groaned loudly, resting his head on the table as the new information was too overwhelming.

Amy knew there was a lot more involved than just that, but it was better if she left it as it was, for more reasons than one. "Yeah…" she breathed nervously. "Sonic, there's a lot I've been thinking about. At Jet's party when you got angry you said something about 'she was hurting you', what did you mean by that?"

Sonic was silent for a moment. Consciously his eyes drifted off to the small girl beside him who watched and listened to the conversation, hopefully not understanding all of it. But he knew what he would say next was something she was unfortunately familiar with. "Let's go to the park. We can talk there."

Fifteen minutes later they were at the nearest park. Cream had found a few younger kids her age and was playing with them on the climbing frames, laughing and enjoying herself for the first time in months.

Sonic and Amy watched her play, sitting on a nearby bench together and keeping a watchful eye out in case she needed them as they really talked this time.

"It started a few months ago. I don't know what exactly triggered it off but Winters completely lost it with me. She threw me into the wall, shouting, scratching my shoulders and everything. I thought it was maybe a one off thing and I confronted her the next day but… it just got worse from then. Every detention she would drag me around, throw me into the desks… she burnt me with a cigar, hit me with the ruler, tied me up several times…" Sonic rolled up his sleeve and revealed all the bruises and cuts that laced on his skin. He didn't tell her that some of those he gave to himself, but it was just to show that he wasn't lying this time. "When the whole School believed I tried to hang myself, that wasn't true. Mrs. Winters had thrown me into the small storage cupboard behind her desk. What nobody knows is that I am ridiculously afraid of tight spaces… so I passed out. When I woke up the first aiders were there, she was the hero that saved me from myself and now everyone thinks I'm crazy."

Amy stared at him with watery eyes, her hands clasped firmly on her lap yet all she wanted to do was hold onto his, now that she knew the truth. "Why didn't you tell anyone? We would have helped you… you should have called the police."

Sonic guffawed, wasn't the answer obvious? "I couldn't. I know I was a jerk at School, but the thing is my Uncle didn't. Eggman let him think I was a straight A student. So as it went if I told on Mrs. Winters, they'd tell my Uncle all the things I did in School. I didn't want him to find out."

"But surely he would have helped you despite what you did…" as soon as the words left her lips Amy cringed regrettably. Sonic looked at her deadpanned, not needing to say anything for her to know what he was thinking _How do you think I got here…_

"Sorry, that was stupid. I just didn't think your Uncle would do that."

Sonic simply shrugged. He didn't want to go into that area just yet.

A small silence went by, and the two hedgehogs turned their attention back to the young rabbit that chased around with the other children. She often called out and waved before going back to her knew friends.

"Amy I need help."

The request came about so sudden that Amy wasn't sure if she had heard it or not, or her mind was playing tricks on her. But Sonic looked down, almost like he was too weak to hold his own head up. "Not for me… for Cream. I need to find her mother."

"Oh" was all Amy could come out with, feeling the conversation had gone out of place. "Isn't that your care takers job?" no sooner did she say it before a bitter laugh sounded the air, "Trust me, that's not happening."

Amy couldn't help but feel like she had missed something. She looked back at the young girl on the swig set, now wondering if there was more to the friendship between Cream and Sonic then just older boy looking after young child. "What's going on?" she asked.

Sonic thought about it, not wanting to go into much detail. "Her mother thinks she's dead."

"What?"

"I don't know. I really really don't know Amy. But I need to find her. If she thinks Cream is dead then she's not looking for her, and she can't stay here" he sighed, looking down to his feet as they slowly scraped across the grovel. It was evident that sadness was taking a hold of him, his brow swept up high and a deep frown unsettled upon his face.

Amy felt almost hopeless. She wanted so desperately to say the right thing to him, to really prove it would be okay, but what could she do? Quickly pulling out her phone, she was half tempted to search on her phone… although "Have you tried checking online? Maybe she has a profile or something?"

But Sonic shook his head. "I'm not allowed on the internet. Also Nack took my phone off me. The only reason I got your call is because I checked it when he wasn't looking" he admitted.

"Okay, well give me her name and I'll see if I can look it up for you" Amy offered, already getting her phone ready to search the web. But Sonic held his hand out and placed it over the phone, stopping her before she could even start. He looked at her with so much uneasiness and distress that she wasn't sure what he was feeling at this moment. "The thing is… Amy… It's not that I can't find her. The truth is… I haven't been looking."

The pink girl felt her phone vibrate, but not on its own. Sonic's hand trembled so much as he held it, he was so unstable that his fingers jittered and spasmed uncontrollably. Without thinking she dropped her phone and grabbed his hands, rubbing them firmly hoping it would help to calm him. Even though he told her what had happened she never really thought about how it affected him. For the past few weeks she worried about seeing him again, she never even considered he would be a broken wreck, no matter how much he tried to brush it aside. She needed to help him. "Sonic, why haven't you been looking?" she asked calmly, hoping it would be enough to ease him.

It was not. Sonic closed his eyes, slowly wincing as he bit down on his bottom lip. For the first time he showed Amy the side of him that she had never seen before as his head fell down and landed on her shoulder, a sob ripping throw the air as he hid his face away from the world.

"Sonic!" Amy cried, quickly putting her hands to his back and holding him closely not knowing what else to do.

"I don't want to lose her."


	37. No Hero For The Villain

**Hey my lovelies, sorry this chapter is as long as normal, but it's basically the part two from the last chapter soo... ya.**

**Thank you guys for the reviews, not gonna lie I was surprised. Some of you guys loved the SonAmy fluff and felt it was really important. I can tell you now, if you thought last chapter was good then you're in for a treat with this one :)**

**Also just so you guys know I did struggle to write this one as well, I'm trying to get the story moving forward but sadly I put in so many plot twists there's more loose ends to tie up lol. **

**Anyway we can move on with the story now, please stay tuned and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Please leave a review and I'll update soon :D**

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There was nothing Amy could think of to say. She held Sonic up by his shoulders as all he did was fight against the tears that leaked down his cheeks before wiping them away with his hand, now angry at himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. "I'm sorry, its lame I know" he mumbled, sniffing back the last of his sobs before drawing his knees to his chest, using them to lean the side of his head down. His eyes trailed along the playground and followed Cream as she ran around, fortunate that she hadn't been paying attention to him. "I just… She makes me feel like I'm needed. She acts like it's impossible for me to be a bad guy and I didn't realise how much I wanted to feel like that. Even though she's only six, she understands what I'm going through more than anyone else. I want to help her get home and get her away from this hell hole but I'm so scared that if I lose her I'll have nothing to live for… I'm scared I'm gonna… I'll…"

Amy rested her hand against his shoulder and rubbed soothingly, wanting to provide as much comfort as she could, but upon hearing how he truly felt she leaned herself into him, wrapping her arms around his torso and holding as tight as she possibly could. None of this was what she had ever expected to hear from him. Sonic was so confident in himself, everyone loved him, the guys wanted to be like him, Amy would have burnt her own heart if it meant having a chance to be with him! But now… the boy everyone loved hated himself. Her caring heart only ached as if it was already burnt.

"Sonic… You have no idea how much you mean to people, if only you knew…"

"Amy please!" he snapped tiredly, sitting himself up so she was forced to let him go. Sonic hugged his arms and sighed lowly, eyes wondering to the ground. "Things in School were a lot different then I made them out to be. I was stuck in my own world where I was popular, nobody could hurt me and I was free from being called a freak and a demon. But that's the thing; I convinced myself I was so important and untouchable that the moment things went wrong everyone jumped at the chance to get rid of me I didn't see it. No one 'loved me' as much as they went on, they all just used me to score points. The worst thing is for once I can't lie about it, or blame it on anyone, because it was all my fault. I should have never lied to my Uncle, I shouldn't have been such a jerk to people! I should have listened to Tails and let him explain before I threw him into the wall!" he threw his head down into his hands as his voice started to break once again at the painful memory. He needed a moment to control himself, not wanting to breakdown a second time in ten minutes, so shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, Sonic regained himself. He knew there were tears still threatening to fall, but he tried to forget about them, wanting to finish what he had to say. "Nobody cares about me Amy. No one wants me back. I saw what they all put on that SpaceBook page, it's practically turned into the I-Hate-Sonic club."

He failed to see Amy cringe at that comment.

"Sometimes I really think the world would be a better place if I wasn't on it. I've ruined so many lives…"

He heart finally broke. In a moment of de ja vu, Amy felt like she was back at Jet's party all over again, listening as Sonic broke down to her, confessing all his anguish and pain to her, treating her like she was the only person he trusted. And just like that she felt she had to help him, do anything to show him how much she valued his life. Only last time she had Rouges voice running through her ears telling her she needed to find any reason to kiss him in time for Sally to run in on them.

Only this time, Rouges voice was replaced with her own.

With her hands reaching to his face, she unknowingly to both of them leaned in and placed her lips on top of his. Sonic's eyes were wide opened and he became as stiff as wood, not expecting her to do that. But slowly he felt his fears and grief start to melt away as he relaxed into her hold and let Amy pull him in. He felt so confused and yet for once he decided not to care.

Amy pulled herself away, realising he had placed his hands on her waist and she had hers on his back, but knowing that she really liked it. She gave him a sweet, sympathetic smile before raising her hand and cupping his cheek. Yet her smile wasn't happy, it was desperate. She trembled as the tears fell from her own eyes. "Sonic, please… I know things look really bad now and you've been through so much, but please don't say that! Don't say you mean nothing because you mean so much to me! Every day in School when I watched you with Sally, the amazing way you treated her and special she looked to you, I envied it so much! I wished so badly that you would see me in that way Sonic. I wished I could have meant to you what you mean to me. And I know I came on as crazy and obsessive in the past and it freaked you out, I see that now. But it was only because I was so desperately in love with you that I didn't know what else to do…"

Sonic looked up at her, his lips opened slightly and eyes widened in wonder, "You… you're _in_ love with me?"

As Amy hiccupped on her tears, she felt her face almost burn with shame, suddenly regretting saying anything. "I… thought that… Well I…" she stuttered, not thinking Sonic would have been as shocked as he was. Didn't he know?

They both sat silently, neither knowing what to say at this point. Sonic looked like his mind had drifted elsewhere while Amy inwardly panicked. She shook her head and opened her mouth to defend herself, but before any words could escape, she felt familiar lips press back down onto hers, keeping her quiet.

Sonic hugged her close to his body; she leaned in and embraced his face as they let the kiss take over. There was no real passion behind it; there was no excitement or thrill. It was just hurt; hurt trying to be swallowed up by compassion and care for each other. Neither one was thinking this was the start of something special, they were both using it as a means to make the other feel less empty inside. To feel there was something worth living for.

Parting from each other, Amy leaned her head down on his chest and cuddled into his hold. Sonic planted a small kiss to the top of her forehead before leaning his head on top of hers.

"Does this mean we're still dating?"

Sonic laughed at her, squeezing her tightly in his arms, "Yeah, I think so."

* * *

Sonic and Cream walked Amy back to the train station. It hadn't been a long wait and the majority of passengers had already boarded. As instructed by Sonic the young rabbit waited on the benches by the entrance, she was under strict orders not to speak to anyone and if anyone tried to speak to her she was to call out, just in case.

They didn't have long before the doors would close. Amy stood with her hands held tightly in Sonic's as they kissed each other goodbye.

"Thank you for coming all this way Amy" Sonic spoke shyly, almost forcing himself not to feel uncomfortable or sad by the fact she was leaving.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry."

"Yeah, hopefully I'll get my phone back from Nack and we can arrange a day again?"

"Of course" Amy forcefully smiled, a sudden thought entered her mind that he doesn't have his phone almost sounded like a false promise. Almost like a guy who doesn't like a girl makes an excuse that he can't see her because he doesn't have his phone… She had to get rid of those thoughts. Sonic wouldn't hurt her like that, not after being so honest… was he being honest?

"So um… about… Cream's mum" Sonic whispered quietly, aware there was an echo in the train station. He consciously looked back to the small bunny to check on her. She still sat and watched happily.

Amy snapped from her thoughts and smiled, "I'll look online when I get home. I'll text you when if I find anything out."

"No uh… let me text you, just so you know I got my phone back" he suggested, shuffling uneasily on his feet and fidgeting lightly. Truthfully he didn't trust Nack to not check his phone and read his texts.

"Oh okay. Well if you text me or give me a call, I'll try find out what I can. I still think the best thing to do is go to the police with her though. If they get Cream's DNA they can track her mother and…"

Sonic threw his head in his hands out of frustration, "No Amy! I told you I can't do that!"

"But why?"

"I just can't okay!" the sudden outburst echoed around and a few passer-by's stared disapprovingly. Amy started at him, now feeling uncomfortable herself and hurt by his display of anger.

Seeing the results, Sonic groaned to himself and turned away, feeling like an idiot. "I'm sorry" he mumbled, opening his arms wide in a gesture. Amy accepted and moved into him, allowing his arms to fall around her body.

The last call for the train played through the speakers and they knew that it was time to say goodbye. Sonic planted a last kiss onto Amy's cheek and he watched as she left him and got on the train.

* * *

It had been almost an hour's walk from the train station to the orphanage and Cream was officially worn down. She lay sleepily in Sonic's arms as he carried her all the way. He could have done without the extra weight but he didn't have the heart to say no anymore.

The sun was nearly down by the time they got home. Fortunately the door wasn't locked so Sonic could walk straight in.

His intention was to put Cream straight to bed before going up to his own room, but the moment he reached the bottom step two large hands quickly grabbed the hood of his jacket and pulled him back, choking him in the process.

Cream fell from his arms and landed on the floor with a thud. The girl scurried about, finally awake, and realised she was back in the orphanage. She looked around for Sonic, but screamed when she found him.

"You little thief! Where the hell where you!?"

Sonic was pressed up against the wall, his hands fighting against the ones that laced around his neck, squeezing it tightly where he felt himself unable to breathe. Nack was pinning him, crushing the hedgehog's small skinny frame under his bulky one, making any hope of escape impossible.

"I sent you out this morning to buy food, you had one hour to get everything done! So you spend the whole day doing hell-knows-what and you don't even have the sense to get the shopping!? What were you doing!?" Nack's voice grew louder and scarier as Sonic trembled and squirmed away.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I completely forgot…" the teen tried to reason in vain, but his own fears gave way as he felt himself try to curl into a ball, his hands rising to cover his face in a hopeless defence. He shortly gave way to pleading tears as Nack shoved his face right into his, spitting as he shouted at him, "You went to the police didn't you? Thought you could get smart on me now huh?"

"No! NO!" Sonic screamed out, his eyes widened in horror at the accusation, or mostly because he knew what it would mean.

"LIAR!" He was thrown back into the wall before Nack raised his fist high into the air before beating it down repeatedly, aiming for Sonic's jaw. "I thought you would have learned speed boy, I got friends everywhere. No one will believe your little story, and nobody is gonna care! You're a piece of crap that got tread in the house! You're such a burden that even your so called Uncle couldn't spend another second on you. You should have died when you had the chance… After tonight you're gonna wish you HAD!"

Grabbing him by the stands of his quills, Nack dragged Sonic all the way upstairs. The blue hedgehog screamed out, begging for help from anyone, but all the doors that the children hid behind were closed shut.

Nack grabbed him by his wrist, kicking at his injured foot when he tried to slip away. It wasn't until Sonic dropped to his hands and knees, crying out in desperation that Nack struggled to get him to move. So he wrapped his arms tightly around the teen's stomach and picked him up that way to force him to his room. Sonic yelled and kicked out, despite the burning pain from his ankle. His face was drenched with tears while he pleaded in desperation.

But Nack kept hitting him against the wall and dragging him until they were in Sonic's room. The caretaker threw him onto the ground so he could shut the door.

Now alone and completely helpless, Sonic shuffled away as the taller, older man descended towards him. He reached end of his room before he curled up into a ball, hiding in the corner of the room and shrieking in fear. "NO PLEASE! I'M SORRY!"

"Too late" was all Nack said, seething through his razor sharp teeth. He dropped down and his strong arms reached out and pulled the hedgehog up from the ground and dragged him towards the bed.

He threw him down, watching as Sonic frantically struggled to get away, but he kept him pinned. His hands drew down to the jacket he always wore and he pulled it up, forcing it over the teens head and arms. Sonic tried to stop him, feeling too exposed and violated as the air got to his overly sensitive skin. It was a battle he couldn't win though as Nack threw the garment away and grinned evilly.

Sobbing uncontrollably Sonic crossed his arms and held onto his shoulders, knowing he couldn't fight anymore and wishing he had just done as he was told in the first place.

He couldn't watch. He closed his eyes tightly as Nack picked up the switched on lamp from his night stand. He didn't bother to unplug it; he simply took the shade off and smashed the bulb against the edge of the table, grinning when smoke emitted from the searing hot broken glass.

Nack held it an inch away from Sonic's eyes, which he still kept closed as he quivered fearfully. He didn't need to see it to know what Nack was going to do.

"I suggest you open your eyes, I'm gonna be the last thing you see-AHHHHH! YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

Sonic's eyes shot open and he sat himself up to see what was going on. He gasped in horror as a new fear took hold of him.

Nack was jumping on the spot, holding his foot and cursing loudly to himself. By his foot was a heavy bowling ball, and in the doorway Cream stood angrily sticking out her tongue to the caretaker.

"You little brat! I'll teach you to a lesson about heavy things!"

It happened so quickly. Nack picked up the bowling ball and instantly Cream screamed and ran away. Nack chased after her.

"No! NO STOP!" Sonic screamed. He threw himself from the bed and ran to the door, but it was shut in his face before he hand the chance. He pulled at the handle but he heard it being locked from the outside, leaving him alone in the small dark room.

"No! No Cream! Please leave her alone! Please!..." he slowly fell down to the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks as loud sobs ripped through his throat, "please… C-Cream…"

He heard the faint sounds of high pitched cried, the yelling's of an angry man, and the loud thud of something heavy hitting the girl.

Sonic fell to the floor. He curled up and gripped his aching stomach, knowing that at any moment he was going to throw up. He cried so much his ribs ached and his heart stung in his chest. He felt like he couldn't breathe, he hyperventilated in panic. He rocked back and forth repeatedly as he wanting his Uncle there. He wanted his Uncle to show up and save Cream and find her mother, save the day, solve everyone's problem like he always did. He wanted to throw himself in his Uncle's arms and hear that everything was okay, that this was all one big nightmare and the orphanage never existed.

"chuck… I-I'm sorry… p-please…" Sonic closed his eyes and wept loudly, wishing he could block out the noise from the other room. He hated himself so much for what he didn't do. He should have found Cream's mother and saved her from all this, he should have been the hero Cream needed him to be… but he didn't. He was selfish.

Now he wished for his own hero to save him, to undo all the problems he made. But Chuck would never come back for him, not now.

There is never a hero to save the villain.


	38. Another Fight Scene

**The boys are back in town, boys are back in tooooooown!**

**I'm back :D **

**Sorry my updates haven't been as frequent, sadly due to my ill health I had to give up my job. But no worries I found a new one, yaay, with less hours and more pay BOOYA!**

**But now I'm trying to manage new job with bad health and I'm getting tired all the time, so sadly I have had no energy when it comes to writing, which really sucks :(**

**But fear not, nothing will let make me give up on this story, I've put in too much time and dedication towards it. It just might take me a bit longer to write it ^_^'**

**Hope you all enjoy and thank you so much for the reviews. **

**P.S. I must say I did not expect the reaction I got about Cream, so the major question is will this story stay true to it's nature or will something good finally occure. Leave me a review and tell me what you'd like to see happen ;)**

* * *

The spot was all too familiar where Tails sat alone. Up at the top of the bleachers watching down on the empty football pitch he slumped lowly with his chin rested upon his hands. He felt utterly miserable, and not just because of the lack of information on Sonic but because he realised he started to do badly in his classes.

He couldn't believe he failed that exam! And in literature? That was practically child play for him. He never failed an exam before, if anything he always aced his exams his teachers often allowed him to skip a few. The lowest score he had ever gotten was an A-, so why did he suddenly get an F?

It was pointless; he knew why he failed the test. It was because he had been so focused on finding Sonic that he forgot to study, and do homework, and forget he had a test to do until he got there.

Everything that was happening lately was messing with his head big time. The teachers were nice enough to put it down to the fact that he had just come out of hospital, and Tails didn't feel the need to correct them.

All he could do now was hope they'll find Sonic so he could apologise, then maybe the guilt of reviling those horrible secrets would stop eating him alive. He knew if he could fix Sonic's reputation then the hedgehog would hopefully forgive him, and then Tails could finally use his brain again.

Though he was in his own world it wasn't for long as the young fox heard the marching of footsteps heading towards him. Looking to the side he saw Knuckles groaning and narrowing his eyes.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you dork, why didn't you tell me you were heading this way instead of storming off after class?" the older echidna snapped, standing only inches away and looking down critically.

Tails sighed, not feeling much of a mood, "I wanted to be alone for a bit."

Knuckles raised his brow, "Why because you failed the test? Big deal, it wasn't even important to begin with."

"It's not that! Ever since Sonic left I haven't been thinking straight. I'm struggling in my lessons now, I can't concentrate and I'm even losing my touch with my machines!" the child shook his head in his hands, feeling frustrated with himself.

Unfortunately Knuckles didn't have anything to make him feel better, "Well this part is totally gonna suck then. I ran into Amy this morning and she's bailed on us. Says she couldn't find Sonic and wasn't going to help us anymore. I think she's up to something" he spat while crossing his arms and looking away.

"It was your idea to ask her for help."

"Yeah and it backfired okay? Gimme a break mutant boy, at least I'm coming up with ideas!" Knuckles quickly grew short of patience as he huffed to himself, feeling like he was only tolerating everyone today.

He hadn't noticed however that Tails's feelings were very mutual. With a low growl of annoyance Tails stood up from the bleacher and balled up his fists tightly "You think you're the only one whose coming up with ideas? I spent all night trying to track Sonic on his phone only to find out his Uncle must have gotten to it first! It was impossible to get a signal from it!"

"Well yeah I could have told you that Tails, I already knew about the phone."

From the outburst Tails felt like he was momentarily stunned, "Huh… you did?"

"Yeah, Sonic told me about it. Whenever he gets a new phone the old man tinkers with it so no one can hack it, or use it to track him" he explained, as if it was obvious.

"Well why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because I didn't think you were creepy enough to stalk people like that!"

It ended with the both of them exasperating loudly with irritation and they turned away from each other, both angry and needed a moment.

Times like this Tails wondered how he and Knuckles ever came to a mutual agreement, but unfortunately they had. And as much as he hated to admit it he needed Knuckles help. He knew Sonic better then anyone. "Alright look, everything we've done so far has failed so can we just think of a new idea already?"

Knuckles groaned inwardly, still not to the point of forgetting why he was annoyed, but sadly the fox was right. "Fine, now's the time to add in your contribution, so what do you suggest?"

Choosing to ignore the comment, Tails thought for a moment, "Well… would Sonic's locker be emptied by now?"

"I don't think so. I think they normally wait till family comes to get the stuff."

"Then let's check it out."

With that said the two made their way down to the lockers. Unfortunately though it didn't seem like it was going to be unnoticed, as per usual the hallway was stacked with students standing around and hanging out while waiting for the school bell to ring.

It was bad enough that loads of students stared at the fact Knuckles was walking alongside the weird fox but when they hovered around the most unpopular and spoked about hedgehog's locker, they both felt the pressure of poisonous eyes drill into them.

"This is crazy, people are going to suspect something" Tails spoke quietly under his breath, almost dancing on the spot as he watched the looming eyes that locked onto him almost every time someone passed by.

"Shut up no they're not okay, just stop freaking out" Knuckles mumbled back, keeping his head down for a low profile. He waited a couple of moments until it seemed like no one was paying much attention anymore, and when the hallway was filled up to the top with noise that the echidna punched lightly at the locker, digging the spike on his knuckle into the opening of the frame and with one solid twist the door was forced opened.

"How did you do that?" Tails gasped in amazement. Knuckles couldn't help but let the grin take over, blowing on his fist as if to clean it, "Natural echidna ability my young friend, something they don't teach you in nerd school."

Then all the awe Tails felt was gone and instead he rolled his eyes. "Whatever, let's just look in the locker already."

They both simultaneously looked inside.

"Huh not really much in here, just books" Knuckles commented, gazing upon all the books that filled the locker that looked like they hadn't been used in a while. There was nothing really outstanding for them to look at either. Beside the books there was a packet of gum, a picture of Sally, a few bits of rubbish that really should have been thrown away and an envelope.

The latter is what struck the foxes interest. Curiously Tails picked it out and looked it over, "There's no name on it" he observed. The seal had already been broken, so he reached inside and pulled out the mystery papers.

The moment his eyes laid upon the small squares of glossy images, the eight year olds face and ears burnt with disgust as he unintentionally gagged, throwing the pictures down on the floor.

Startled Knuckles ignored the child's horror and instead picked up a few of the many photo's that had been scattered around. "Oh… hell no…"

In his hands he held the most disturbing nude photos of his former Science teacher, Mrs. Winters.

"What the… hell are these!" he cried out, almost dropping the photo to the ground as he wanted to wash his hands. On the floor there were more pictures, all in different poses and different (or lack of) clothing. He hadn't realise how many pictures there were, but it seemed like there were hundreds of them, how they all fitted in the envelope he didn't know, but they were spaced around, and in plain sight.

Quickly Knuckles darted down to try and pick them up before anyone saw, but of course nothing worked out that way.

"Hey Knuckles, what you doing hanging out with Tai…" the preppy voice that was easily recognised at Mina's as she strolled up from behind with Bunny by her side, who seemed less amused. Of course she stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Knuckles bent down and picking up some random photos. It wasn't until she got a good look at what they were that she gasped sharply and snatched a few of them up before Knuckles could stop her.

"Oh my gosh what are these? Is this Mrs. Winters?" she cried out loudly, unfortunately gathering unwanted attention. In a panic Knuckles tried to grab the picture back but she held it out the way.

"Seriously are we still talking about the whole thing with Sonic and Mrs. Winters again? It's so old…" Bunny had started, but the moment Mina forced one of the photos in her face she instantly got on board with the new interest. "What the… no way, is that who I think it is?" her excitement perked up at the thought of new gossip as she also snatched the picture away to get a better look.

Knuckles snarled at the uncaring girl and grabbed a hold of her wrist, "Give that back!" he shouted before swiping the photo away. It was useless however as Mina had gotten a hold of the others that fell to the floor. "Do you realise what this means? Sonic had been spying on her this whole time. She has no idea the camera is on her!"

"How did he take those photos?"

"I don't know!"

"They might not be real" Tails desperately pointed out, feeling nerves get the better of him as the two girls voices grew louder and louder, grabbing unwanted attention.

"Yeah whatever. Jet, Silver, come over here!"

That was the final blow. Knuckle's felt his fists shake with anger when the two named boys rushed over and the girls threw the photos at them.

Jet was the first to comment, "No way, these were in Sonic's locker? The guys a bigger pervert then I thought, I just didn't think he was into old lady nudes. Ha! I'm glad he didn't come with me when I went away with my grandparents, think he would have enjoyed himself too much" his grin became almost too wide as he laughed bitterly, enjoying every negative comment he heard.

Knuckles blew up. "You forget that Sonic was the one that hid those drugs from your parents, or do you have your beak so far up your butt that you don't care?"

Instantly Jet stopped laughing, his eyes resembled slits as he glared at the outraged echidna, "When are you gonna grow a pair Knuckles and stop being such a girl! It's not my fault the pervhog got it off with the teacher, or maybe you're a little jealous."

The small gathering around the two was quickly expanding as on lookers soon joined the group to see what was going on.

"Jealous!" he quickly snapped back, anger taking an ugly hold on him. Jet found it amusing, "Yeah, if you ask me you've been a little obsessed since blue boy left, what's wrong? You miss you're little boyfriend?"

"Forget it Jet! I'm not wasting my time on a druggy whose last girlfriend was his cousin!" Knuckles growled before violently pushing Jet backward until he fell into Silver's arms. The hawk was only stunned for a moment before he embarrassingly stumbled to his feet. His face was bright pink but not due to falling over, but due to the comment, "She was my second cousin! Second Cousin! It doesn't count! Besides at least I've had a girlfriend recently, when was your last date? Or have you been saving yourself for when Sonic got bored of Mrs. Slutface?" Jet retaliated and shoved the echidna back just as hard as he did to him.

Not stumbling as much as the hawk, Knuckles only lost balance for a few seconds before his anger got the better of him. With a sharp swing of his wrist he knocked Jet completely out after landing a punch to his jaw.

Nothing stopped the crowd from gathering around now as the hawk lay on the ground, quickly stirring and shaking his head to stop the world from swirling around him, but he had minimum time to react before Knuckles threw himself down and repeatedly punched him.

"You crazy git, get off me!" Jet kicked the echidna in the stomach, winding him before leaping up and throwing the teen down to the ground instead, kicking and punching where he could. Knuckles was stunned for a moment before he reached out and grabbed Jet's ankle, pulling him down before getting up and pinning him.

No one new how long the fight had lasted until security got involved.

* * *

Of course the peace could never have lasted long could it?

Robotnik sat in his office chair, his chin resting glumly on his palm while the fingers of his over hand ratted across his desk. As he inhaled, an obvious groan of irritation filled the room as he glared at the teenage boy in front of him.

The situation was very similar, only this time it was red and not blue.

"So you started a fight in my School and you expect me to let you off the hook right?" he said bluntly, not sparing much concern for the bruises that laced the echidna's face.

Knuckles sat awkwardly with his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap. Truthfully he was in pain but he was too annoyed to make a deal out of it. He wanted to defend himself and he nearly did. He nearly shouted out that it was Jet who started it and by rights he should be in the office not him! But for once he decided not to. Knuckles decided he was going to use his brain for once.

"Actually no."

Robotnik raised his brow, "Oh really? So you realise there will be consequence's involved? This is a first."

Knuckles shook his head, "No there won't be, because I didn't do it."

"Say what?"

"I didn't get in a fight with anyone. Me and Jet were just talking and we got a little loud so security came over and reported us for fighting, it's ridiculous" he almost laughed, waving his hand as to brush the idea away.

The principal stared at him questionably, "So that's your story now? Then tell me, how did you get the bruises?"

Knuckles shrugged, "My mother. Didn't clean my room on time."

"You expect me to believe that!" Robotnik snapped, slamming his hand against the hard oak as his patience slowly grew thin.

A small glean nearly shimmered through Knuckle's smile as he closed his eyes smugly and relaxed in his chair, "Well of course I do Eggie, it's not like you can prove it" he said challengingly.

Finally it was Robotnik's turn to grin as he pulled out a remote from a draw in his desk and aimed it at his book shelve, "Wrong again echidna, guess you forgot the small thing called a surveillance camera."

The smile of victory was almost too wide, "Gee did I? I didn't know this is where you could access it…"

* * *

Tails paced along the emptied corridor outside of the principal's office. Truthfully he should have been back to his class by now but he wanted to wait for Knuckles, he needed to know if the echidna was still going to be allowed to come back to school or not.

His mind kept racing to the fight; it looked so brutal in his memory. Jet had ended up the worst, that was why he was sent straight to the nurses office and Knuckles was forced to go to Eggman.

But he kept thinking about what was said and why Knuckles got so angry over the way they talked about Sonic. Normally he was the first guy to lay an insult on anyone so why was he getting so personal with this? The only thing he actually told Tails was that he had his own reasons for wanting to help but what does that mean?

Had the fox been so blinded by his own guilt he overlooked something obvious? Knuckles wasn't normally a friendly sentimental guy so why was he as determined to find Sonic too?

Was he just a good friend? Or was there something more?

Tails almost jumped out of his fur when the office door slammed opened and Knuckles darted out. He had such a shock he almost missed the small dance of success the echidna started doing as he cheered quietly.

"And _that_ my friend, is how it's done!" he laughed before holding up his hand for a high five.

Awkwardly and with a lot of confusion Tails slapped the five lightly before trying to get serious again, "What happened? Are you getting punished?"

"Oh yeah I'm in big trouble" Knuckles stated, but he spoke as if it was the best news of his life.

"I don't understand, why is that a good thing?"

As Knuckles turned his heels to walk back to class, Tails was soon following his trail until they were side by side. "Well it's not, I got a three day suspension starting tomorrow which throws a spanner in the works, but some good did come out of this. I found out where the security footage goes to."


	39. Cream

**Hello, I'm back with the chapter you have all been waiting for. **

**Sorry it's only a shortie but it basically leads in to everything you guys wanted to find out. It does its job :)**

**Shoutout to MrZombieKitten. Thank you, my health isn't perfect but there's improvement ^^**

**Enjoy the chapter... or don't. Just please read and review.**

* * *

The room was too quiet. Everything looked the same only he couldn't see it for what it was. The white walls, the curtain on the side, the many monitors that sat by the bed… the machine that was the only thing keeping her alive… he couldn't take any of it in.

He had seen Hospital rooms so many times, more then he should have for his age, but nothing scared him more than seeing her in one.

Cream lay peacefully on the bed, buried under all the blankets. A white bandage was wrapped around her small head and an oxygen mask covered most of her face. The only movement she made was the steady rise and fall of her chest while the heart monitor beat repeatedly in a steady rhythm.

Sonic couldn't cry anymore. He wanted to… he wanted many things.

His face flushed deeply and rashes started to burn at his once flawless skin. The small streaks of water still lined them while all he could do was stare at the sweet girl beside him. His hand was firmly grasped around hers, and often he would squeeze it and pray that she would hold back.

She never did.

With a deep, fearful and trembling breath, Sonic finally closed his swollen eyes, only now realising how dry they had become. He leaned himself down closer, almost resting his head down on the blankets before shooting himself back up with a low cry.

"C-Cream…" he spoke in a soft whisper, his voice threatening to break down. Sonic felt he had to take a deep breath before he could speak again, his chest hurt so badly that he wasn't sure if he could even make it through what he wanted to say.

"I'm sorry… I know it… doesn't really help but… I truly am" Sonic stared at the young girl, her eyes were closed tight and nothing was shown on her pale face. No joy, no kindness… just nothing.

But he didn't stop, nor did he let go of her hand.

"Cream… I wanted to find your mother. I was going to but… but I let you down. I-I… I was selfish. I was so scared of losing you that I didn't even try. I didn't want to see you walk out of my life…"

He paused; the only sound in the room was the beeping of the monitor.

"You know… lately everyone who's been there for me has stabbed me in the back… but not you. Cream you literally changed my life. I never had a friend that was so devoted and caring… and refused to let me think I was worthless. You made me feel like I was needed, and because of that I let you get hurt" the lump rose to his throat and he struggled as he wiped his face of tears.

"I'm sorry! Cream I am so sorry! I never wanted you to get hurt… I never wanted you to save me from Nack, because he could never hurt me as much as I hurt now!"

He felt his lungs burn under the heavy weight that tore through his heart. His eyes stung as the loud mournful sobs started to take full control of him. Sonic had never felt this kind of pain, and it was the most harmful of all.

"Cream please… please I need you to wake up… I need you to be okay. There is so much I should have done for you and I want to do it! I want to make it right! Please! Cream… I can't lose you…"

He rested his head down onto the sleeping girl's chest, taking her small frame in his arms and weeping in despair over her suffering. All the while Cream never moved.

"Cream… Cream…"

Silence…

"Y-you were my hero…"

There was nothing… nothing but the sound of a flat line.

Drawing back quickly, Sonic stared at it. "No" it screamed at him, the noise ripping his ears from his skull. "NO NO! Cream! NO!"

Desperately he shook the girl, pleading for her to wake up.

Nothing else registered in Sonic's mind at that moment. He didn't realise he had been dragged away, screaming in horror and fighting to be by her side. Two strong hands held him back while doctors rushed to the girl.

He couldn't see her anymore. The door to the room was slammed shut and Sonic was wrestling against his captor.

"No! No Cream! Please don't let her… I can't… Let me go!" he cried out with a broken heart, the world around him being drowned away with the tears that filled his eyes.

He was forced down to one of the chairs that rested against the wall as a waiting area, but he didn't make it easy as he started to lash out at whoever it was that had him in a grip. With a frustrated cry of anger and grief he attacked the person, easily pushing her down to the ground.

He didn't pay any attention to her, instead picking up the chair he was being forced to sit on and throwing it down the hallway, causing a loud disturbing noise to ring across the walls.

"NO!" he screamed out. But Sonic started to grow tired. Crying lowly to himself as his breathes heaved from his lungs painfully. He swayed on the spot, looking like he didn't know what to do before suddenly falling to his hands and knees.

His shoulders trembled violently, almost shaking the fur off his own back. He buried his head as low down as possible, wanting the world to finally eat him alive.

He physically couldn't take anymore, his body and mind was too exhausted.

The woman was a young nurse, the one that had held his hand when he was afraid of the needle. She slowly lowered herself by his side, resting her hands against his back as he wept bitterly over the loss of his friend.

She didn't say anything, but he let her pull him up so he could rest his head onto her shoulder, finally giving him someone to hold.

All she could do was shush him reassuringly, making sure he took as much time as he needed.

But something soon changed. From down the hallway she heard heavy footsteps coming towards them both. When she looked around, she laid eyes on the boy's caretaker.

The weasel didn't look distraught, or even upset. All his attention was on the hedgehog she held in her arms.

Every instinct she had flared up as he gave her a small, heart-warming smile. "Hey, thanks for looking after him" he charmed with her, trying to look sympathetic and sorry that she had to waste her time on the kid, "He gets emotional, I'd be careful really. I'll just take him off you now" at this point he wasn't even trying. He seemed more impatient and agitated then concerned.

But before the young nurse could even protest or say anything for the matter, the teenage boy was ripped straight from her arms.

As she stood up Nack had wrapped his arm around the boys frame to keep him up and using his thumb he wiped the tears from his eyes, but he was being too forceful… to rough with him.

Nack said nothing more, like she wasn't even there before he dragged the sobbing boy away completely from the scene.

The nurse watched them rush out, desperate to be as far away from this place as possible. She didn't need anyone to tell her why though. She didn't need to snoop around for any evidence to know that her gut feeling was right. Nack didn't even seem upset that the young girl had died.

There were no accidents involved in this… and she was not going to let him get away with it.

* * *

As Nack drove them both home, Sonic curled up in the front seat with his head placed firmly against the glass window. He trembled sadly while short painful sobs hiccupped through his body. He was still in shock, all the while guilt, horror and despair ate at his soul, making his mind burn vigorously.

Nack never looked at him once. The radio was off and the wind screen wipers squeaked against the glass as the rain purred from the heavens. The small drops of rain where the only thing Sonic could watch as they streamed together, two separate tears falling into one.

"Why…?" his shattered voice croaked lightly, sounding too unsure and too fearful for him to even want to carry on talking. But Nack never spoke a word to him, neither did he reply. So he breathed heavily and swallowed, "W-why did you k-kill her?"

"SHUT UP!" Nack angrily snapped, his hand instinctively raising high into the air threateningly. With a sharp fearing gasp Sonic curled himself up further, afraid of how far the murderous man would go now.

"I didn't plan this alright! It wasn't supposed to happen! Now because of this the Police are raising questions again, I got social services on my tail already and there's a good chance I'll lose my job! The only way I could get them off my case was by telling them all you did it."

With wide eyes and a stunned silence Sonic finally looked at the man, his stomach sinking and a pain shooting through his chest, "W-wha…w-what…"

"Relax I told them it was an accident. You got angry, kicked out at me but accidently hit her instead. She fell into the shelves and something heavy fell down alright? The police wanted to question you before but I told them you were in too much of a state so they'll probably come around tomorrow to talk or something. Just stick to the story, got it!?"

Sonic said nothing. Truthfully he was in so much pain that he couldn't think of anything to say. He feared this man so much that to say anything against this plan could possibly kill him, now that Nack had a taste of death… who knew what he would do?

With a dying emptiness inside of him, Sonic turned his head back to the window. He closed his eyes and sat in silence, too scared to say or do anything again.

Fifteen minutes went by and they were near the house.

Sonic finally found both courage and strength to speak up again. "C-can I have m-my phone back?"

* * *

Sitting in his room, Sonic held the phone next to his ear as he lay down with his head firmly against his pillow. The door was shut firmly and a chair was tilted under the handle, just in case…

His breathing hitched several times as he listened to the repeated ringing that drowned out his thoughts.

"Hello, Sonic? I didn't expect you to call so soon…"

"A-Amy" he breathed out. He felt himself begin to well up inside and he wasn't sure how much he could say before he broke down.

"Is everything okay? I uh, I managed to find some leads on Cream's mother, I think we might actually be able to find her."

"…" he couldn't say the words. Mentally he felt his mind tare itself apart as everything came rushing to him at once. Dropping the phone for only a moment, Sonic hastily rubbed at his eyes, but he wasn't able to stop the deep sob that ripped from his throat.

"Sonic? Sonic what's wrong?"

"I-I need you… A-Amy please I need you so badly. You're the only one I can trust a-and… a-and…" he broke down to her, unable to hide any of his feelings anymore.

"I um, I-I don't know what to do, I'm still at School and it's three hours on the train…"

"I know. Amy I'm really sorry to do this but please. Please come here, I need you so badly right now. I messed up… I really really messed up and I don't know what I'm going to do" suddenly, in a burst of anger and sorrow, he started to weep uncontrollably. "I think I'm going to kill myself! I can't take this anymore!"

"No! No Sonic don't talk like that, whatever has happened we'll work it out."

"I-I… I don't know if I can. Amy… I'm really scared… please help me…"

"Okay. Okay… I'll try and sneak away from School, it will take me a few hours for me to get there but I will meet up with you as soon as I can. Will you be okay? Please don't do anything, wait until I'm there!"

"I don't… I'll… okay" Sonic listened as the phone hung up.

He lay curled up on his bed, his arms wrapped tightly around his pillow as his chest rose up and down frantically. He felt himself grow sweaty as panic took full control of him.

He wanted to end it. He wanted so badly to just finish his life now that his heart burned at the very fact he was still alive. He wanted to do it and yet… he didn't. But he did. GAH!

Clutching his head tightly, Sonic tried to block out all the whispers he started to hear. All voices from the past, all haunting him of every time he had done something wrong.

The only voice that spoke against those was Amy's. He needed to wait for Amy!

He needed to wait… he needed to stay still. Don't move away from the bed, don't let go of the pillow, and don't do anything. Just wait for her…

She was the only one who could save him now.


	40. A False Hope

**Happy 40th Chapter! :D**

**This is a very quick update for me but I was eager to get it updated. **

**But as this is a milestone of chapters, 40 chapters and 351 reviews! I honestly didn't think I'd ever get that far with a story, like ever. Thank you guys so much all the support, this story would not have gotten this far if you guys didn't keep pushing me on so thank you so much ^^**

**And as a special treat for all of you, I'm going to prove once and for all that I have a heart. **

**This chapter goes out to Red the Pokemon Master, you can thank him for this.  
**

**Hope you enjoy ;)**

* * *

"… getting a response…"

"… close… nearly lost her…"

"Doctor… she's waking up…"

A steady rhythm of beeping from a monitor filled the small room. The doctors and nurses all stood around the bed, waiting in anticipation.

Her young, amber eyes flickered for just a second, voices nearly singing through her mind as everything faded away and returned.

Her doctor sat by her side, simply watching and waiting. "We were lucky" he stated, grabbing the attention of the young nurse that stood by his side. "We only just made it in time for her."

The nurse placed a reassuring hand on his arm, kneeling down so she was on his level, "You saved her, remember that. That's all that matters now."

The small girl turned her head slightly, a soft moan escaping her lips as she did. Instantly the doctor as on his feet, he waited patiently as the small girl finally opened her tired eyes to him.

He reached down and grasped onto her hand, reassuring that he was friendly. "Hello, it's good to see you awake" he smiled brightly. He waited for a response but all the girl did was blink at him. She showed confusion in her face, almost like she didn't understand.

The doctor slowly and carefully reached to the oxygen mask that hid the majority of her face, and being sure not to alarm her he lifted over her injured head. The small girl didn't do anything to stop him. She lay on her bed and allowed her eyes to wonder over the white room in fascination.

"Tell me" that doctor spoke up, grabbing the child's attention, "What's your name?"

The girl stared at him, taking all the time she needed to register that question and to analyse what it meant. What it required her to do. She tried to think really hard, but a sprint of pain shot through her head and she cried out, hands rushing to the bandages.

The doctor pulled her hands away, shushing her calmly, "There there, it's alright. We don't expect you to be out of the woods yet. It's just a headache, especially after the nasty fall you had."

"… f-fall?" her shy voice finally gave way as the young girl stared up at the doctor with questioning gaze.

"Yes you had a fall, do you remember?"

She slowly shook her head, looking down at the bed sheets she was surrounded in.

"Do you remember what happened?" the Doctor asked, pushing a little hard for a response. The young rabbit shook her head again, her eyes trailing away as she half attempted to try and remember.

"Do you remember your name?" the question was asked again.

The girl stared up at him, a small trembling breath became audible as she thought as hard as she possibly could. But in the end, her answer was "No."

Nodding his head in understanding, the doctor clasped his hands together and looked down for a moment, accepting what he had observed. "Tell me, what's the last thing you remember?"

To his surprise, the young girl had no trouble answering this one. Her eyes started to well up sadly as she looked all around the room with longing in her eyes, "Mummy… I remember my mummy. She tucked me into bed… Where is she?" small tears started to fall from her eyes as the realisation that her mother wasn't there for her.

The doctor could only smile to her, and reassure her as much as possible. "Don't worry, we'll find someone to look after you. Just try and get some rest okay" with that he allowed one of the nearby nurses to take over, knowing she was friendly enough and good with children that she would have no trouble in making the girl feel safe.

He himself picked up the patients chart and called over the nurse that stood by his side to follow him. Together they walked down to hall way and headed for the office. "We'll make a full report of her state. Unfortunately amnesia is a difficult case for anyone to handle but with the right care she should be alright."

"Do you think it will be permanent?"

"At this point it could last an hour or three years, we won't know for sure. The best thing we can do is inform her care taker and let him now of her recovery. I presume he's still in the Hospital somewhere."

The nurse paused for a moment, stopping in the middle of the hallway. Surprised the doctor stopped also, turning to face her with a questioning stare.

"Actually he left a while ago. As soon as the young girl crashed I grabbed the boy that was with her and pulled him away. Then Nack shortly showed up and he dragged Sonic away and left" she explained.

The doctor pressed his lips together, contemplating on what she had told him, "Strange. He didn't wait for Cream's results?"

The nurse shook her head, "It looked more like he didn't want to be there. He wanted to get away as soon as he could" she worded it in a way that she hoped the doctor would hear the hint in her voice.

He seemed to ponder over it, nodding in the way that made her think she understood him. "I think the best thing to do now, is call her care taker, inform him of the girls state and explain that we would like to keep her in for a while longer" he spoke as if that was the end of it, but a soft hand reached for his arm as the young nurse pleaded in her eyes with him. "I don't think that's the best idea. We've seen a lot of cases of child abuse Phil, don't you think this is a little suspicious?"

"Lorna we can't keep assuming that every case we get that involves a child is down to parental neglect. We have to be careful with these kind of assumptions."

"I know, I know. But this is the thing, not too long ago it was Sonic that had been admitted into the Hospital with heart trouble and a broken ankle. When asked about it Nack told us he fell down the stairs. But now, a week later the very same girl that visited the boy is emitted due to head trauma, and the reason is because Sonic kicked her… with a broken foot?"

There was a pause in the air, Lorna's reasoning was practically smacking the doctor square in the jaw. Shaking his head the older man rubbed at his temples, "He wouldn't have been able to kick her hard enough… not in the state he's in" he concluded.

"Trust me Sonic was kicking out at me before, it wasn't that forceful."

With a soothing breath, now knowing what he was dealing with, the doctor came to his final conclusion. "Call the police; we shall inform them of what we know, for now there is to be no contact with Nack until further notice. Also here, contact these" the doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card and handed it over to the nurse, "Who are they?"

"A charity for children who suffer abuse, they haven't lost a case yet. They work with the police and get the job done quickly. They'll be the ones to save those kids."

* * *

The day had slowly gone by and the sun was setting down. Through her long journey to Central City Amy had kept constant contact with Sonic by either calling him or making sure he replied to the text messages he sent. She felt herself panic every time if he took longer than five minutes to reply to her, but fortunately he responded in the end.

They had arranged to meet up at the cafe at first, but sudden message came from Sonic and he asked if they could meet on the outskirts of the town instead, where the woods were.

So they did.

Now they were sat together on a fallen log, a small camp fire they made was crackling beside them, followed only with the sound of an owl's hoot and the chirping of crickets.

It was all taken for granted as she held Sonic in her arms, his head resting lowly on her lap as he stared at the fire, watching with only feelings of despair and misery as it burned away the twigs it was made of.

Amy's soft hands rubbed along his arm, trying in anyway to be a comfort to him. At this point all she could do was listen to him.

"I could have saved her… I could have stopped him if I hadn't of been so stupid. What's the point in being the fasted thing alive if you can't even stop someone from… hitting…" his voice broke, feeling like he was unable to say anything more. Deeply he inhaled, and closed his eyes tight, not knowing what else he could do now.

Amy hadn't known what to expect from him. She had been so worked up over the fact that Sonic needed her she failed to even consider what he was upset about. But the moment she saw him standing on the outside of the woods, waiting for her to get there faster, it all broke down. Sonic had ran to her, crushing her in a hold and told her everything in one go. He told her about the things Nack had done, and told her about what happened to that sweet little girl. He was a complete wreck.

All Amy could do was let him get it out, to finally open up to her about the whole truth. She could never have known how bad his life truly was.

"Sonic…" she had to wrack her brain for something to say, not wanting to say anything that could make him feel worse, "this wasn't your fault."

With frustration Sonic groaned loudly and sat himself up, "Of course it was my fault! Don't you get it? If it wasn't for me she'd still be alive. Or if I hadn't of been so selfish I could have found her mother and she would have been at home!"

Amy lowered her hands to try and get him to calm down, "Sonic there is nothing wrong with needing someone. Nobody is going to hold you to that; you can't put everything down on yourself."

"But I could have saved her Amy!" he breathed heavily, his hands running through his quills as he felt his whole body ache with stress, "I could have stopped this from happening, it's all my fault."

Amy slowly inhaled, her own temper starting to build up as she really thought about who was to blame. She thought about the white bat… who no doubt would be grinning if she could see him now. Was this what she wanted? Well congratulations Rouge, your horrible plan worked.

But all of Amy's anger wasn't solely directed onto Rouge… she thought about the other woman that played a part, the one that pushed Sonic too far.

"Sonic listen to me. This wasn't your fault, in fact none of this was your fault. Have you forgotten what you've been through? All the rumours that people spread around School, getting kicked out from home… all the sick torture that Mrs. Winters put you through…"

Sonic stared at her, his eyes widened in both worry and confusion as he didn't understand what she was meaning with all this. But Amy looked determined and she held onto his shoulders reassuringly, knowing that he had to listen to her. "Don't you see it? If anyone is to blame then it's Mrs. Winters. If she had never hurt you the way she did you would still be living at home with Chuck. You would still be the most popular boy at School, you would still be the fastest thing alive and wouldn't have to worry about your heart. She is the one you should blame for all of this okay, she is the one who ruined you're life, and as a result Cream suffered too."

Her words ran around in mind again and again, but he was so unsure of them. His head was swimming in a river of emotions that he didn't know if he could truly believe her or not, "I-I don't know…"

"Trust me Sonic. This was all because of her, she's the one to blame!" Amy spoke firmly, making her words final. The truth was however, she had wanted to blame Rouge more than anything. But how could she throw the bat into it without confessing to him what her part was? Both logic and conscious would never allow her to do that. But she needed Sonic to blame anyone but himself. That was all that mattered.

Still unsure, all Sonic could do was nod in this situation. Out of habit he rubbed his already sore face with his sleeves, taking a moment to just breathe in the fresh air, even though the smoke of the fire filled in his senses. He just wanted to remember how to relax again, but he didn't know if he could.

Shyly he looked over at Amy; he watched her pick up a small twig and poke at the fire to keep it going. She looked so different to him now. He hadn't noticed before but she stopped wearing makeup, and she wasn't wearing that fitted dress anymore. She was back into her red dress with the ballerina skirt and large red boots… it was the way she used to look when she stalked him. The look that made everyone think she was plain and boring. But to him, right now… as her eyes shone brightly from the glow of the fire… she was honestly the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

She had a point. If Mrs. Winters hadn't of done what she did then Sonic would still be living his normal life, he'd still have his friends and his Uncle, and he'd still have his Princess of a girl Sally.

He missed Sally… he had loved her… but she was nothing compared to Amy. The only girl he had ever truly been there for him, even when he looked his worst, when the rumours had been presumed at fact, she still cared about him… she still loved him.

For the first time in what felt like his life, Sonic found himself beginning to smile. Staring at the most amazing girl by his side, she was the only person who could ever make him feel loved again.

He had already lost so many people in his life, he didn't know if he could survive to lose her.

Slowly Sonic reached out his hand and took a hold of hers. Amy turned to him; her bright shining eyes waiting patiently as he straightened himself up. "I don't think I can go back" he breathed deeply, really thinking hard about what he was saying, "I-I can't… I-I can't face him now, I can't face that place, it's too much."

"Where will you go?" she asked, concern filling her voice.

Sonic only shrugged his shoulders, "Run away I guess. It would be easier if I could go full speed but… my foot still isn't healed yet."

"B-but what would you do about food? And shelter? Where would you stay?"

"I don't care" he answered softly, a half-hearted smile slowly pulling at his lips before he shook his head lowly. "I'll just keep walking… and when I get better, I'll just run wherever I want."

Amy looked down, her shoulders drooped lowly as she couldn't even hide her disappointment. She had waited for him for so long and now…

"Amy" Sonic paused for a moment, now trying to be the bravest he could ever be, "Would you come with me?"

The girl could only stare at him, her eyes widened in realisation of what he was asking of her. "What?"

"Come with me…" he repeated. Amy's hand drew to her heart which began to beat out of control. She was so torn inside, it was like a fairy-tale but realities stood in her way, "But what about my family? What about School? I-I don't know if I can do this…"

"I know Amy I'm sorry, it's asking a lot but… I really need you. I don't want to lose you. And I know it's gonna be hard at first but we'll get through it. We can just go anywhere we want, leave everything behind. And when we're old enough we can get married, start a real life together, go on crazy adventures and just… be happy."

Her heart was racing now, her cheeks were as pink as she was and nothing could contain the smile she tried to resist. Sonic wanted to marry her… Sonic wanted to marry her! He unaffectedly just asked her to marry him! She didn't care about reality anymore! Or whether he was being honest or emotional, her dreams were finally coming true!

"YES!" She screamed, jumping into his arms with a loud squeal as she wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed him.

"Really?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! Oh Sonic I can't believe we're doing this. This is crazy!" Amy didn't give him a chance to reply before she pushed her lips down onto his, giving him the most enthusiastic kiss of his life. At this point Sonic didn't have much more to say, feeling overwhelmed with relief that he didn't have to physically beg her. He held her tight in his arms, letting her rest into and enjoying the warmth of her blushing cheeks on his chest. There was nothing that could make this moment more special to either of them.

"Sonic, you have no idea how much this means to me. The fact you want me to be with you, to start a new life with you? It's more than I could have ever dreamt of. I love you."

The boy smiled widely, turning his face up so he could plant a small kiss on her forehead. He didn't know if Amy had been expecting him to say it back or not but… he wasn't ready for that.

After a small peaceful moment, Amy lifted herself up and looked at him, "I suppose if we're going to rough it for a while we'll need a few things. There's a small store still open in the city not far from here, do you want me to rush out and get a few things?"

Sonic stared at her for a moment, surprised by her eagerness. Truthfully he hadn't even thought about leaving yet but probably best to start somewhere. "Yeah sure, you need any cash?"

"No it's okay, I got some. I won't be long" she said before standing up and finally letting him go. She leaned down for a kiss before stepping around and heading towards the city. Sonic started to watch her leave, feeling a little empty as she walked away from him.

He was so filled up with his thoughts that he almost didn't hear the small ringing that echoed around in the pink bag that was next to him. Curiously he reached in and searched for it, picking out a mobile phone that had alerted there was a text message.

"Amy! Your phone went off" he called out, wondering if she was far away or not, but he didn't get a response. Deciding to be patient Sonic went to put the phone back in her bag, but unfortunately his curiosity got the better of him. All he wanted was to see who it was from, so he opened her phone and took a quick look.

… it was from Rouge.

Rouge? Why was she getting a text from Rouge? Why would Rouge text her at this time of the day? Since when did they even know each other? Why is his ex-girlfriend getting in contact with Amy?!

Sonic couldn't handle it. He felt the dreaded wave of nausea hit him as all the worst possible scenarios played out in his mind, again and again.

He told himself he wasn't going to look at the text, just see who it was from, but now he didn't think he could handle it if he didn't read it.

Opening it up, it read:

_Amy when are you going to reply to me?_

_I saw you talking to Knuckles, I want to know what it was about. _

_If you're still mad at me then remember I'm the one that made you popular, you owe me a lot._

_Just call me back, love ya xxx_

He stared at it. His mind went completely blank. He had no idea what was going on. Amy was talking to Knuckles? Rouge made her popular… what?

Sonic didn't understand it, there was so much meaning behind that message and yet he had no clue as to what it was about. He did the only thing he could do to get answers, he scrolled up to the very top of their exchanged messages and read through it all. From the first time they texted each other, to all the things in-between, and finishing with the message he had just read.

Sonic read it all… The SpaceBook account. New ideas, new rumours… new lies… all to be written on the SpaceBook account.

He closed the messages, and went to Amy's apps. He clicked on SpaceBook… and he was grated with a picture of him… grouping his teacher on one of the worst days of his life.

She was logged into the fake account… Amy was logged in on the account. She had suggested all those rumours, Rouge only agreed on them.

He understood now. He understood why she had changed, why she was there at the party and kissed him as Sally walked in… Why she wanted him to blame Mrs. Winters for everything.

It had been Amy that did it all… and for once, Sonic wasn't distraught.

He didn't cry, he didn't get angry, and he didn't throw the phone into the fire. All he did was rest his head down on his arms, breathing deeply as it all settled on him. But then why should he have been so surprised? It was too good to be true anyway.

"Sonic, I'm back. I wasn't sure what you liked so I got a few different things, I also got soda too, oh and water, can spend a life on the run without the necessities can we?" Amy's cheerful voice rang out as she wondered back with bags in her hands.

He didn't waste time anymore. Sonic stood up from the log and he marched towards her, his head down and hands in his pockets.

Amy became worried as he approached her, suddenly looking almost aggressive, like he could turn nasty at any moment. "S-Sonic?" she cried out, cautiously taking a step back, but the older hedgehog did nothing. He stopped in front of her, looked her square in the eyes and reviled how hurt and betrayed he really felt, all without saying it.

Instead all he said was this, "Your phone went off. Rouge is looking for you. She probably wants to add a few new rumours to the account you both made together. But it's okay, you can tell her all the secrets you got out of me now. Have a good life" with that he pushed the phone back into her hand and he walked away.

"W-what… no, no Sonic wait!" Amy called out to him, but he never turned back. She watched in silence as the boy she loved left her alone in the middle of the woods, confused and frightened.

"What happened?" she breathed out in a sudden panic, her hands grabbing at her ears desperately, "What just happened!?" she quickly looked at her phone, opening up the message Rouge had sent to her… Consciously she started to go up and read the messages she and Rouge had exchanged in the past. Her heart span out of control as it dawned on her what happened. Sonic had read through the texts, he had found out the truth…

Amy fell down, her phone fell to the floor. She rested her head in her hands and wept uncontrollably. She had lost her dream, and she could never get him back. And she was the only one to blame.


	41. Shadow's Of Nightmares

**People... my dear dear wonderful readers. **

**This is the moment you have been waiting for. This is what you have been wanting to see. **

**I hold you back no more, thank you for the reviews and enjooooyy...**

* * *

Hours passed by, Sonic didn't know if Amy made it back on the train or not, but this time he didn't care. He sat alone on the side of the street, leaning up against an overflowing bin with his arms crossed as she shivered from the cold. He didn't know what time it was, the battery on his phone had died a while back, but he could have guessed it was 2 or 3 in the morning. He had wondered around on the streets for a little, trying to get some realistic thought back through his mind but he couldn't. He kept thinking about Amy, how she betrayed him from the very beginning. But his mind was also plagued with what she said about Mrs. Winters, and how she was the real blame for all this. He didn't know, he wanted to believe it but then he thought of Cream and how she'd still be in the orphanage… alive… Then there was Nack, then his Uncle, and Tails and Knuckles and Eggman… AHH!

Sonic threw his head back into the metal trash can with a forceful noise. But it almost felt as more of a release then anything. He wanted to bury himself away from the world, just run away and never come back. It was something he thought of as well, but with his foot being the way it was and a painful growl that came from his stomach, reminding him he hadn't eaten for a day, Sonic realised that he wouldn't get far. Not without being found by Nack.

No doubt the murderer was looking for him. If the police found out Sonic was missing, they'd be all over the weasel in a heartbeat.

But thinking about the weasel was enough to make Sonic real sick again, the thought of Nack walking up to him from around the corner with that twisted grin… he couldn't handle it. Sonic felt shivers running through him at the fear that it could happen.

He knew he couldn't go back, but he wasn't much safer on the street either. Being homeless was the last resort Sonic would ever have. The memories he had of the last time he ran away from the orphanage and the man that found him… No he couldn't go there! Stop stop stop stop!

Sonic breathed deeply, closing his eyes and trying to steady the rushed beatings of his heart. He needed to calm down, or else he could end up destroying his heart again only this time there would be no one to take pity on him.

He didn't know what to do… he really didn't this time. Death seemed like the easiest option but… he was afraid. He didn't know if he could truly put himself through it. He wished he was braver, but maybe bravery had nothing to do with it. Maybe he was still alive because death was too good for him.

Sonic felt a tear run down his cheek, but he wiped it away. He stared down at the shoes on his feet, concentrating on nothing else.

He needed to go to sleep, but no matter how exhausted his body was his mind was too restless. He couldn't even bring himself to close his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to move… All he wanted was to sleep- BANG!

"AHHH!" Sonic fell forward onto his face, jumping out of instinct at what sounded like a gun firing. Turning his head and quickly looking at the bin he had been leaning against, only inches away from where his head had been, a small hole was there with light smoke blazing from around its rim.

In a sudden panic Sonic looked around, trying to get up to his feet as fast as possible. He looked in all directions, along the road, around the corners but there was nothing. No one was there.

Seconds went by and all he could hear was the sound of his own frantic breathing, every part of his body was alert and ready to react in a moment's notice. He almost started to think he was in the clear…

A deep and power force was shot square into his back and Sonic felt himself fly forward to the other side of the street. He tried to roll himself on landing which resulted in less damage as he knocked the bins over, causing garbage to fall out on the top of him.

The teen groaned, needing a moment just to register what was going on. He didn't even get that as something grabbed a hold of his quills and dragged him out from the trash. Sonic cried out in pain, feeling like all his quills were going to be ripped out. His hands went to whatever had got him and tried to pride it away.

It wasn't until he was dragged to the middle of the road that it finally let him go. From lying down, Sonic forced himself to get up, his hands covering the top of his head as the pain throbbed through him.

But finally he could see who was there… he finally saw who it was…

"Y-You… y-yo-ou… no…"

His worst fear had finally been realised. He stared up at the one true person that made his life the living hell that it was. The one true horror story he never wanted to relive.

"Shadow!"

The black hedgehog started at him, his red eyes drowning him with malice. Unlike Nack there was no grin on his face, just the deep frown of bitter hatred he was known for. In his hand he held the gun, his finger was itching to use it.

Sonic dropped slowly to his knees, his eyes never parted from the crimson stare. His whole body shook as his limbs became paralysed.

The black hedgehog walked towards him, and Sonic regained enough control to back away.

"Been a while faker. I see you're back where you belong" Shadow spoke, his voice sounding deeper and more gruff then Sonic had remembered. The blue hedgehog couldn't find his own voice, but knowing he had only seconds to answer. "H-how… how did you find me?" he stuttered, almost suffocating as the lump grew bigger in his throat.

The older boy that haunted his nightmares hardly moved, showing no sign of any possible emotion, become almost robotic. "A mutual friend of ours. Thanks to her I found out a lot about you. It take long to figure out you'd be back in the city" his voice trailed. Slowly he broke his stare, but only to look down at the gun as his raised it and brushed it with his free hand, petting it clean.

"Her?" Sonic breathe out, not knowing what to think. He questioned who the girl was but his heart raced out of control at the gun he was faced with.

"Yes. Her. And she told me a few things I found rather… interesting."

Shadow slowly crept along, circling the cowering young hedgehog who never let his eyes break from him, fearing that even a blink would be the end. "You sent me that text" he stated, his fear failing to stay in control.

A laugh broke out and Shadow smiled, "Let's say I was looking forward to seeing you. Looking forward to this moment… See after you got 'adopted' things didn't go the way I wanted. While you've been living in your big house with your rich so called Uncle and pettily enjoying the good things in life, I was forced into G.U.N training" he stopped as he stood in front of the younger hedgehog, his voice growing bitter with every word while his eyes blazed with hatred. "Seven years I endured physical pain and torment. I had men in higher ranks talk down to me like I was scum. They broke my back with impossible training, pushing me to do more then what was physically possible. They taught me how to kill a man with my bare hands. I watched my men die before my feet, and I was brainwashed to not care. They turned me into a machine, a lifeless weapon. I take orders from those above me, and if I choose to disobey? I pay with my live. You think you've ever suffered before faker? Do you think you know what real suffering is?" Shadow dropped down to his knee, drawing his face only inches away from Sonic's as he stopped silent, waiting and daring for the boy to answer.

Sonic was frightened. He was so afraid and he never knew he could be scared so much after what he had been through. The fear kept him silent but Shadow grew impatient, "Well…"

He looked away, no longer able to see his eyes. Sonic didn't know what he was thinking but he felt his head rise up and down, only to wish he hadn't.

With a raised brow Shadow drew his face closer, looking even bigger and more intimidating then before, "Oh, we're brave today" he viciously taunted, "Tell me how you suffered faker. Tell me why you didn't deserve it."

With his chest pounding, he hyperventilated, not able to keep any self-control. A quick blink and suddenly tears were falling from his eyes, "I-I… I-I… M-my friend died" Sonic choked, knowing it simply wasn't good enough.

The black hedgehog scoffed at him, shaking his head slowly, "After all these years. You're still as pathetic as I remember" he spoke and finished with a fake smile.

Then in one swift motion he swung his wrist and held the gun to side of Sonic's head.

Hearing the small click of the gun loading, the blue hedgehog grew frantic. He wept lowly, slowly lowering his hands down to the floor and making sure he was as still as possible. Shadow tormented him, digging the gun as far into his skull as he could, making it hurt as much as possible. "One shot, that's all I need. All I have to do is pull this small, meaningless trigger. It would be easy, I've done it so many times before. But I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. To use a gun seems too merciful for you… and I'd rather use my bare hands!"

Shadow threw the gun away and Sonic screamed out when he leapt, clutching his hands around his blue furred neck and throwing him down to the ground.

Sonic gasped as the pair of hands crushed his throat, depriving him of air and breath. As Shadow pinned him down, trapping his legs under his own, Sonic's own hands reached out and clawed at him; acting in desperation as he only had seconds left. He resulted to grabbing a patch of the white fur that was on Shadows chest and with a forceful grip he ripped some of the fur right out.

The black hedgehog yelped out, his hands finally letting go to clutch his chest. In the moment of weakness Sonic held out his hands and forcefully pushed him away, freeing his legs. His ankle hurt more than ever, but he didn't hesitate in standing and running away as quickly as he could.

He didn't get far, and he cried out when feeling Shadow grab him by the back of his jacket and pulling him to the building. With an arm wrapped around his stomach and a hand firmly against the side of Sonic's head, Shadow threw him into the bricked wall, using the hold he had to further force trauma. The blue hedgehog nearly fell backwards into his arms, dazed and stunned from impact. It wasn't enough. Repeatedly again and again Shadow threw him into the wall, making sure his head took most of the impact.

Then he threw Sonic down to the ground, watching him fall to the puddles that covered him in water and smacking his head on the concrete pavement.

Coughing into his hands weakly, Sonic tasted metal. Looking down at his gloves they were no longer white, but covered with a deep red tar like substance. Blood was all down his sleeves, it poured from his nose and an open wound on his head. He stared up at the older boy, his heart pounding in his throat. But he felt hopeless, he was so filled with anger and frustration that he pounded his fist against the ground so hard that an audible crack was heard.

"Happy now? Is this what you wanted?" Sonic shouted out, his mind going momentarily insane as he started to look around, wondering what more he could possible do. "You did it, you won. Congratulations, you proved you're better than me. Yes! Yes I did have a great life with my Uncle, but guess what I screwed it up big time and I got what I deserved. I lied to everyone about everything, and when they found out, no one wanted me! I was thrown back into the orphanage the first chance they got, and now I live with the care taker that broke my legs, put me through hell and killed my best friend… and she was only six!"

Tears streamed down his muzzle, his voice only growled as he shouted at the top of his lungs, wanting the whole world to hear how angry he was.

The black hedgehog didn't move. He showed no emotion, choosing to wait and listen.

"Shadow…" Sonic breathed deeply, struggling to finish what he started, "Why? What did I ever do to you? Why are you doing this to me?"

Something in the hedgehog's crimson eyes flickered, and from being seemingly calm his face grimaced darkly, a snarl turning up from his lips and his teeth bearing like razors. With a sharp, cruel cry he stepped forward, his fist held back before cracking it against Sonic's jaw. The blue teen fell down, withering in pain.

"Why doesn't it shock me that you don't have the courtesy to even remember?"

Weakly Sonic propped himself up on his arms, shaking to look back up as he rubbed his now tender jaw. "W-what… w-what do you mean?"

His only reply was a swift kick to his back where he cried out in agony, feeling like he had taken too much punishment. He didn't know if he could take any more.

"You forgot about him like he never mattered" Shadow spoke and it was clear by his voice that this was personal. His eyes fired down, showing the insult he felt and the bitterness that swelled on his tongue.

Shaking his head, overwhelmed, frightened and confused, Sonic gripped onto his ears for a second and breathed sharply, "Who? What are you talking about?" he shouted, sick and tired of being played around and wanting real answers.

"My father!" Shadow practically spat at him, looking down as if he was dirt on a clean floor, his hatred being pure and malicious. Sonic was silent, not daring to say another word.

"He was the only family I had, the only one that truly cared about me. But then _you_… " he pointed accusingly, "_You_ took him away from me. _You_ destroyed my family and ripped my life apart!"

Sonic felt stunned, his lips stammering while his mind raced for any explanation, "B-but I didn't- I don't understand, I never knew your dad!"

Shadow raised his brow, glaring down at the younger boy at his feet, "You really don't remember do you?"

"No! What am I supposed to remember, I don't understand!" Sonic cried out, not knowing what else to say.

But then, the last thing the teen had expected, Shadow looked away from him, closing his eyes and allowing his mind to go. Only his eyes weren't just filled with anger and hate… they were also sad.

"I don't remember how old we were, but we were playing by the river. My father kept shouting for us to get away from the edge but you didn't listen! You went closer and closer and before I could stop you, you ran. And you fell. The stream was too fast, you never stood a chance. But then, when it should have been you… he jumped in and pushed you out, throwing you into my arms and telling me to get you to safety. He was almost out of the water before the current pulled him back and he went under… I never saw him again… no one did."

The streets grew quiet, a lone like flickered in the distance, and the two remained in the shadowed darkness. "… why?" it was the only question Sonic could ask. His mind nearly bled with the questions he needed answers to, but now, he just wanted something to believe.

Shadow didn't answer. The black hedgehog narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly before moving away and walking to the side of the street.

Sonic's eyes followed at he moved, suddenly pushed on edge as he consciously shuffled back, "Shadow… Shadow why did he save me? Why was I there?" he pushed for an answer, but the more frantic he grew, the more his heart began to race. He watched the black hedgehog come to a stop and sweat fell nervously from his brow.

"Shadow?"

The said hedgehog reached down and picked something up. Then he spun, holding the gun out and aiming for the boy in front of him. "It should have been you. You're such an ungrateful waste of a life. My father saved your life and you don't even remember him… he was your father too!"

Sonic gasped, his hand covering his mouth as his eyes stared wide, this time not staring at the gun that threatened him. His hands trembled, his body shook and his face flushed with the heat of intense trepidation. The news hit him hard, too hard! He felt his stomach turn in ways it had never done so for a while. He wanted to be sick, he wanted to hurt himself! He couldn't… no… no… "Y-you… y-you're my… m-my… my brother."

"NO! We are not brothers! My brother never existed. We share the same father and that is all, you are nothing to me!" he shouted, holding the gun closer, warning the blue hedgehog to be silent.

But Sonic couldn't stop, his mind burned with questions that he couldn't hide. After all these years, after everything that happened… Shadow was his nightmare, he didn't just bully he tortured. Shadow was the embodiment of evil, he made Nack seem harmless, he was the reason he turned into the jerk he was. Because he was so scared of finding another Shadow to hurt him… and he was his brother.

"You're my brother" he repeated, his voice trailed as the truth started to sink in. Reality hit him harder than he had ever known before. There were too many questions, he didn't know where to begin. Why did they get separated? Why did no one ever tell him? How could Shadow do this knowing they were brothers?

But the biggest question, the one that he couldn't ignore as it burned into his skull, forcing its way out, was "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Shadow took a few steps closer, holding the gun inches away from the centre of Sonic's forehead, his gaze lowered, and for a moment the blue hedgehog thought this would be the last answer he would ever hear. "I thought it was only right you died with blood on your hands, the way you truly deserve."

Sonic scrunched his eyes tight and clenched his jaw, bracing himself for his last moments of life, but there was nothing. No sound of a trigger or a spoken word.

He opened his eyes, Shadow was waiting for it, enjoying every moment as he taunted him cruelly with the prospect of death.

"Why are you waiting?"

Shadow paused, his brow slowly raised in confusion as he was momentarily caught off guard. Sonic stared up at him with red, swollen emerald eyes. His chest heaved rapidly as he seethed through his teeth. "Well? Do it. Kill me. What's stopping you? I'm here aren't I? I ruined your life, I destroyed everything so why don't you just save your breath and do it already. Kill me! With either the gun or your hands I don't care anymore. Just finish it!"

Slowly the gun started to lower away, and Shadow stared down at him with incomprehension, "You want to die, don't you?" he asked, the truth now dawning on him as he had never expected it to.

Drawing his hands up to his face, a mournful moan flew from his lips as his shoulders shuddered violently, "Yes! Don't you get it? I want to die! I've ruined so many people's lives I don't deserve to live anymore. Shadow please… _please!_ I'm on my knees begging you… kill me. Just finish me. I can't do it myself; I'm too scared to go through with it. But I've got nothing left to live for… please…"

Shadow said nothing. He stared at the boy below him. He watched the blue hedgehog plead with him to take his life away, to carry out the revenge he had been planning for years. He had vision this moment over and over in his mind countless times. He had imagined useless begging and mercy… but never this. Not this…

"Do it… DO IT!"

He didn't. Shadow lowered the gun and placed it away.

The helpless blue hedgehog cried out, burying his face into his arms, looking destroyed and broken. It was enough for Shadow to see, "I could have killed you faker, but I refuse to grant you any favours. You'll suffer more being alive. I show you no mercy, I let you live" he spoke, giving his final word. Just as he appeared, Shadow turned aside and was gone, slipping into the darkened night and leaving nothing but the younger boy behind.

For a moment Sonic didn't move, he couldn't break free from his withering state. It took all the courage he had left to move his arms away from his eyes, to see if he was truly alone.

Shadow was gone… he was gone.

Sonic gasped for air, holding his breath for too long, and his hand rushed to his frantic heart. He fell forward on the ground, lying on his side as he trembled and wept distressingly. He had taken the biggest risk of his life. Shadow could have killed him… Shadow was _going_ to kill him! He had lied, it could have gone so badly, it could have pushed Shadow too far… but it worked. It worked!

Sonic was still alive… He was so afraid, so so afraid.

He lay in the middle of the street, curled into a ball and sobbing lowly.

Because of fear he was alive… and he regretted it.

He killed his own father.


	42. You Stand A Chance There

**Hey ho I'm back, with a chapter :3 (obvs)**

**So last chapter was a dramabomb, but surely things can't get any worse right? Right?**

**Well you'll have to keep reading to find out if I'm truly a cold hearted bitch or not hehe.**

**Thank you guys for the reviews, so many many beautiful shiny reviews ^3^**

**I love you all and enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

This was by far the most impulsive thing Tails had ever done in his short life. Sitting at Eggman's desk he pounded away at the keys of his laptop, wires connected up to the circuit board of the high tech control panel the principal had installed in desk. It was a pretty advanced set up, but thanks to his self-developed password hack Tails had no trouble in breaking in.

Consciously he kept turning towards the door, checking every second for a sound, half expecting for the big man himself to burst on in and find out what he was doing. Luckily he found the will to be patient, waiting for Knuckles to serve his three day suspension. Now the red echidna was waiting outside, keeping guard and ready to alert of any trouble. Nothing was heard so far, so Tails assumed they were still in the clear.

On the outside Knuckles leaned the door, keeping his eyes peeled back for anything that could spell out trouble. They hadn't been long but he was already starting to get bored with the lack of events so far. But on the plus side he had something to focus on. Looking out the window he could see Eggman talking to a few members of the staff outside in the yard. The echidna had to admit it was a very convenient view, but as soon as the big belly moved to the building then that would be the que to leave.

It happened sooner than he expected. Eggman bid his goodbyes and headed to the doors, travelling the route he would go for his office. Wasting no time Knuckles knocked at the door, "Tails, hurry up he's coming" he spoke.

"What are you doing there?"

Jumping with a fright, Knuckles looked around, "Egg- I mean Principal Robotnik, sir. I guess you're wondering why I'm waiting outside your office" he spoke loudly and applied emphasise on all his words.

Tails had heard it, and with a sudden rush of panic he worked faster.

"Yes I suppose so. Aren't you expelled?" the large man asked, pointing his finger accusingly as he stared down at the infuriating teen. Knuckles only grinned widely, trying to look as innocent as he could. "Oh the three days is up, back in School now. That's actually why I'm here see…umm" he tried to think of something, Eggman raised his brow impatiently. "Well you see I was worried about how this would affect my personal record, I'm trying to get into a good college and I can't have this bringing me down. I swear, I will not let this matter go without a fight!"

"It's already on your permanent record along with everything else you did."

"Oh well can't be helped."

Grunting to himself, Eggman pushed the echidna out of his way. He opened his office door wide, but spun his head around when he heard "Yo Eggman!"

"What did you call me?" his anger flared threateningly, but Knuckles only smiled to himself. Not from the reaction, but because he watched the two tailed fox creep from out of the office with his laptop clutched tightly, and all without the big man seeing a thing.

"I'm sorry I think I stuttered" he answered with a grin. With a final growl, too busy to care, Eggman walked into his office and shut the door. Knuckles fist pumped the air.

Tails was waiting around the corner and soon Knuckles joined him, "Did it work?"

"I managed to get into the system with no issues, the only problem is there was a years' worth of security footage. I could only download so much on my laptop, but I think I got enough to cover what happened with Sonic."

"Okay great, I think things started to go bad just over a month ago, when he started wearing that hoodie, now maybe we can see why."

Nodding in agreement, Tails placed his laptop back in his bag and the two walked back to class together.

* * *

Elsewhere during the School time period, the streets in Central City looked near abandoned, being at its quietest time of the day. The only activity was the opened shops and the customers that visited, but even then there wasn't much hustle. This was why Sonic chose this area.

In a small alleyway next to an Italian restaurant he was half dipped in one of the dumpsters, rummaging around and scavenging. His fur was hardly blue now, more black with the dirt that had accumulated. His beloved hoodie that had become a comfort in a sort of way now had tears in it. His quills had rustled up, not being able to comb them for a while, and the worst fact of all was his ankle still hadn't recovered enough for him to run again.

Until that day he was stuck in the city, dumpster diving for his next meal.

This was why this restaurant was the place he stuck by. They threw out some generous amount of food. Just now Sonic's search was over; he lifted himself out the dumpster and pulled out a large pizza box. Sitting on the ground, he crossed his legs and laid the box on top.

"Yes!" he cheered after opening it up and finding half a pizza with only a few bite marks. He seriously did not care, he tucked in to the first meal he had since yesterday's meatball toss. The taste was so good. It must have been extra cheese with a stuffed crust. Granted it was cold and someone else had already eaten half of it, not to mention the fact that there was a lipstick stain along one of the bites but he could cope with that. Surprisingly it wasn't that bad, it was cherry flavoured.

"Well looks like you hit the gold mine Sonny boy."

Sonic nearly choked at the sound of the new voice. He looked up expecting to see Chuck, the voices sounded almost similar and he was the only one he ever called him Sonny boy.

But much to his let down it wasn't. It was a different old man, an armadillo wearing an oversized coat and black fingerless gloves.

He didn't look hostile, or he wasn't trying to be yet anyway. Consciously Sonic's eyes glazed across the ground, looking for the closest and heaviest item he could use to throw if he needed it. He didn't say anything to the man, but surprisingly the man didn't seem to mind. He started to make himself comfortable on the ground, sitting opposite the wide eyed boy.

"Don't mind me, just trying to find a decent place to rest my legs. Been walking around since the sun was up, got to find something to keep me from going crazy in city like this" the armadillo explained kindly, making a small grunting sound as the weight was eased in his bones.

The man looked back at the much younger hedgehog. He couldn't help the easy smile that was drawn to him. The boy was so on edge, so tense and looked ready to run at any moment, clearly not good with strangers. But the food he was holding sure looked nice.

"I'm guessing you've had a bad experience or two. How long you been on the streets for?"

Sonic wasn't sure if he should answer or not, or whether he should just get up and leave, but in the end he decided to brave it, "Three days."

"My you _can_ talk, look-ie you" the man started to laugh, Sonic didn't appreciate it much. "Ah I figured you hadn't been here long, I would have found you sooner. My name's Mighty, I've been on the streets for the past 20 years, gotta tell ya, it's been one heck of a run."

Even though he was still on alert, Sonic found himself slightly drawn in, "20 years?" he repeated, almost fearfully. You could be on the streets for that long?

"Well yeah, can't get a house without money, can't get money without a house" the man spoke as if it was a saying he had used a lot before. It didn't make a lot of sense but if it worked for him.

Sonic looked down, not really knowing what else to say at this point. He didn't need to though as the man spoke up again shortly, "So what's your story? No one ends up on the streets for fun?"

Even though it was an understandable question Sonic refused to say anything, turning his head away. Mighty chuckled, realising he was a stubborn one. "Well it's probably not so bad. Back in my time I was a bit of a big shot. I ran my own company; I had a beautiful wife and more money than sense. I was heading towards a global market, it was going to be my billion. But, unfortunately, I couldn't stop gambling. I was down at the casino every night playing any game I could get to. I was there so much sometimes I would leave my work just to go for an hour or two, and it normally resulted in me missing important meetings and deadlines. There were times they dragged me out by my legs I was so hammered" he started to laugh, remembering the days. "But after a while it took its toll on me. I was so desperate to get that billion that I gambled away all the money I had, and after that I gambled with the company money. I didn't stop. So in turn, I lost my company, it fell through completely. We lost the house, the cars, my wife left me for the guy who kept trying to buy my business in the first place, and now here I am. On the streets and talking to anyone I can find who would be willing to listen to a lowlife like me."

The breeze suddenly felt cold and Sonic could only stare sympathisingly. He often forgot that he wasn't the only one in the world that had problems like he did, and not everyone was actually out to get him no matter how much he thought differently. Mighty seemed like a genuine guy, probably the most real person Sonic had spoken to for a while. He thought there might have been a conspiracy involved but… now that seemed a bit stupid.

"I'm from an orphanage" he quietly spoke, but unable to look the man in the eyes, "My caretaker is abusive so I ran away."

Mighty pouted, nodding his head as he mulled over the uninformative story. It wasn't much but it was enough he needed. Sadly this wasn't a new thing for him to deal with. Over the years he had come a across so many teenagers who ran away from home and they all connected with that one word; Abusive.

"Sonny, you might think that I'm just some old mumbling fart that doesn't have a clue about the youth of today, but I've seen a lot over the years."

As he spoke Sonic felt the familiar twist in his stomach, the feeling of anger and frustration combined into one as he restrained himself from snapping something harsh and spiteful. But the man had spoken to him but for all ten minutes and already he was undermining his circumstance, ready to accuse him of telling lies and not appreciating what he had. How much more could he take of that?

Apparently wasn't subtle as Mighty raised his hands and changed his tone, "Now now don't worry, I'm not saying it's not as bad as it is. I mean how can I judge, you haven't told me what's gone down" he spoke in his friendly tone again, and Sonic felt his stomach subside. He now instead started to wonder what the man _was_ actually going to say.

"But listen; let me give you some advice, please. I've seen so many kids your age come on the street all for similar reasons, and a lot of them have told me some horrific stories. And I suppose at times it might seem that spending a life hunting for food and lying under newspapers at night is much better than being in an abusive household. But I've seen what life on the streets can do to kids, the things that they go through just to survive are inhumane, most of them don't stand a chance. The only way they got a roof over their head is either a casket or a pimp takes them in."

"Ew" Sonic scrunched up his nose, completely unnerved by the thought.

"Yeah it doesn't take long before you'll give anything for a warm bed. In all honestly sonny, I'm not saying this to be funny; I'm being brutally honest with you. If you have a chance to go back to some place warm with a roof over your head, then its best you go back to it. Don't make the same mistakes the other kids did."

Sonic's eyes drifted down, his brows knitted together as he stared sadly at the ground, "But if I go back nothing's gonna change, if anything it would get worse."

The armadillo nodded, "True, it will always get worse. But if you have any chance of escape, it's there, not here."

The teen age boy looked back up at him, confusion evident in the way he stared as if asking how the man could even think that idea. Mighty easily explained, "You got a whole life ahead of you yet. There's School, and college then hopefully a good job that you won't land yourself into gambling debts with" he joked, "But you see you can't get that on the streets. Once you're here that's it, that's all you got. At home, you get an education and even though there's abuse there's help too. Maybe a teacher will intervene and sort things out."

All Sonic could think of was Mrs. Winters and her idea of sorting things out…

"Think about it son, you don't want to end up like me."

With a deep heavy sigh Sonic felt like his will had been defeated. A lot weight up in his mind, the thought of going back ate him alive but… Mighty was right. He had been so afraid of facing reality he was convinced he could start a new life as soon as his foot was healed. That idea was the only thing that kept him going now but, what would he do then? He'd still be homeless with nowhere to go, no food and no one that would care about him. For a while he pondered the idea of a kind stranger taking him but how would he know if the stranger was actually kind? What would stop him from being in a worse situation he was in? It wasn't like there was no abuse on the streets either.

It was the hardest decision he had made in a while, but he knew he had to make it. Pushing himself up off the ground and standing on weak legs, he dusted himself off. He picked up the pizza he had only taken a few bites out of and handed it to the older man, "Thank you… for the advice. It's not much but…"

The smile on Mighty's face couldn't have been wider as he gladly accepted the food, "Why thank you young man, that's very kind of you. Just remember sonny, things will change, it's not going to last forever."

The positivity was not mirrored as Sonic forced a smile, "Yeah… I hope so" with that he turned and left, making his journey home.

* * *

The walk had taken it's time, deciding he would take a detour along some housing estates. Truthfully Sonic wanted to postpone this as long as possible. He could only imagine Nack's reaction when he saw him. After three days of running away straight after Creams death… what would he think? He'd be suspicious that he went to the police again, or told anyone what had happened for that matter. The last time Nack thought that he dragged Sonic to his room and was going to blind him… if it wasn't for Cream… But what would Nack do now? What punishment would he think is good enough?

Sonic couldn't stand it, the thought's he had were enough to make him sick! He hadn't felt this bad since the run in with Shadow. He hadn't remembered a day that could have been worse, even with his history. In one day alone his best friend died, his girlfriend had betrayed him and his tormentor that had been the basis of all his nightmares revealed that not only were they brothers, but the basis of all the hatred was that Sonic was responsible for the death of their father.

How could he move on from that?

Sonic gripped at his head, feeling the intense pain swell in his brain. It was too much for him to go over now, he couldn't think about Shadow or Nack anymore. He was trying so had make his peace with what happened but the guilt weighed on him now that had was responsible for two deaths now… he really should have let Shadow kill him when he had the chance, but he was too much of a coward.

It wouldn't be long now; he was only around the corner from the orphanage.

His stomach was churning; he had to stop for a moment, feeling too dizzy and weak in his legs. Several big breathes, he had to keep breathing through his fears.

He pushed himself forward, one small step at a time. The house was starting to come into view, the very top sticking out above the trees.

And then, he turned the corner and stepped onto the pathway. He almost dropped to the floor at the sight before him.

Police cars were parked up, policemen standing around, the children were gathered in a ground where a woman in a suit guarded over them and dragged from the house, escorted by three police officers, kicking and screaming… Was Nack… in handcuffs…

"Get the hell off me you stupid pigs! You got nothing on me! All I've done was break my back taking care of these worthless leaches and what thanks do I get?! You're all a waste of life! No one's gonna want those kids! No one!"

Sonic ran over to the children, making his presence known to everyone there. The woman was the first to approach him, "Sonic the hedgehog?"

"Um… yeah" he hesitated, still at lost by what was happening. The woman held out her hand firmly, "Wonderful to see you safe, I'm detective Snow, I'm here to make sure you're all safe" she said before turning to a nearby police officer, "Call the squad and tell them to cancel the search, Sonic's been found."

"Yes ma'am."

"Now Sonic come here, I want you to stay with the others and-" she was cut short the moment Nack laid his eyes upon the blue hedgehog.

"YOU!" he cried with a shrill, heavy voice, so aggressive that he nearly foamed out the mouth. "You blue freak! You're the one that called the cops didn't you?! You think you're so clever, well guess what! You're the reason she's dead! You killed her! He's the criminal, not me! Soon as I get my hands on you I'm gonna rip you limb from limb! I'll hack your legs to pieces and maybe then you'll find someone who will accept you when you're not a mutant demon anymore!"

A hand was violently slapped on his head as the three policemen forced him into the car, silencing him from the outside.

Sonic stared at the car, unable to accept what was happening. His chest grew frantic and he didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to stand.

Unintentionally he started to sway back and forth, but only realising he was doing so when a police officer reached out and held him by the shoulders. "Easy son, I know it's a lot to take in."

"W-what happened?" Sonic gasped, his hands reaching towards the officer's arms as he now realised how much support he needed. The woman in the suit was the one to answer. "We had a call in from the Hospital where your friend was taken too. They made a case of suspected child abuse was involved. Checking the records we found of several accusations but now evidence to support any of it. However a different case had changed all that. One of our detectives was destroying evidence and creating false reports for bribes. We managed to make a connection to Nack and with him behind bars there was no one to cover up the weasels crimes now. He's been found with several accounts of child abuse and neglect."

Sonic was at a loss of thought. He couldn't come to terms with it. He looked over at the police car Nack sat in the back of and watched as it slowly drove away… his abuser was gone. It was over... It was actually over...

The policeman spoke, almost as if reading his mind, "Yeah he'll be gone for a very long time now, and the prison he's going to? Let's just say some of his jail mates have a history of teaching child abusers a lesson" he laughed with amusement. But a swift look from the detective and he became silent.

Sonic still stood in silence, watching the empty space where the car once was. Thoughts ringed through his mind again, only this time it was filled with worry. He kept thinking thoughts of like what would happen now? Who's going to look after him and the other children? Are they being sent to a different orphanage? If so what would the caretakers be like? Would they be like Nack? Would they abuse him? Would they be worse? Would they kill him?

The more frantic he grew, the less breath he had. The last think he saw and heard was the woman crying out in shock and the policeman catching him in his arms before everything faded into black.


	43. A Genuine Smile

**Okay dokay, it's a shortie but it's a great place to stop. The next chapter is a drama bomb so be excited for that. **

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews but a special thank you to Admiralkirk and Ghostkid33 for giving me a bit of unintentional insperation. **

**Hope you enjoy the chapter and see you next time ;)**

* * *

When Sonic finally woke up he was almost blinded by the all too familiar white walls. He was lying on a bed once again and surrounded by people he hardly knew. He groaned, letting everyone believe it was due to waking up. Really he was just sick of being in this place.

"How you feeling?"

He looked to his side to see the same female detective from the orphanage standing next to the bed, her hands placed firmly against her hips and a too-wide-a smile on her face.

Sonic didn't say anything to her, just rolled his eyes and closed them again. He hadn't noticed the doctor sitting at the end of the bed, mindfully tending to something, until his senses started to tingle to life and he realised something was holding his foot.

Opening his eyes he shot the doctor a questioning stare, watching as the man examined his shoeless ankle. "Don't worry, nothing's the matter, if anything I'm impressed. Never seen a broken bone heal as quickly as this" he mused, his hands going over to check for any pain.

Much to Sonic's own surprise he felt very little, "I-I don't understand… how long was I out?"

"Just a few hours" the woman answered.

The doctor nodded in agreement, "Yes unfortunately we had to treat you for a minor head trauma this time, looked like you've taken a nasty hit to the head recently."

Sonic's hand reached up to the wound from where Shadow threw him into the wall. His gloves were still stained in blood from that day, but truthfully he hadn't thought about it much. "Guess so."

"Well your ankles looking all cleared up now, I think you'll be able to run on it again soon."

"Wait really?" Sonic nearly shot up, completely baffled by the news, "But I couldn't run this morning, I-It's still been hurting lately, h-how can it be healed?"

"I must say I'm surprised you haven't been trying to run already, you've been walking just fine on it" the doctor laughed. "Naturally it would still be hurting, and I'm not saying that you should start running the moment you get out of bed, just that it won't snap off you do run. Still you're not 100% yet so give yourself some more time to get settled before you try okay."

And like that he slumped back into misery. He folded his arms over his chest and looked away, mumbling a small "Fine."

Sonic's mind instantly started to drift away, and the similar questions he worried about before starting to spring up once again, "So what's gonna happen now?" he asked.

The detective knew that this was her area to deal with so after giving the doctor a small glance to ask for some privacy he left the two of them in piece. She sat down on the edge of the bed, but he hardly moved to look at her. "Well firstly you'll be discharged from here shortly, after that however my team has been contacting people and are finding new homes for everyone. I managed to find a foster family to look after you; they have a lot of experience in dealing with… troubled youths."

Sonic felt a chill run up his spine, not happy at what she had just called him. He'd of said something back but the worry of moving to a foster family was already taking its toll on him. Was it an actual family, with kids his age? Who would beat him, force him to clean, cook and act as a general slave and throw him around for their own amusement, like, that kind of family?

The detective (being true to her title) picked up on his worry, seeing his body starting to tremble and his eyes dilate back. She placed a careful hand on his shoulder and reassuringly squeezed, "They're a lovely couple. Their names are Jack and Aleena, they'll help you get back on your feet, no problem."

It didn't matter what she said to him, Sonic had already made up his mind. They were going to hate him and torture him, and this time he was going to have no one to turn to for help. So all he said was "okay" not feeling like there was anything else to ask.

The detective smiled at him, but inside she felt she had done a hopeless job. She still had the responsibility of driving him to his new home but she could see he needed a moment to adjust to the idea of yet another place to move to. But then there was other news she was informed of by one of the nurses that she needed to tell him, and now seemed like a good time.

"Well there's no rush, get yourself together and we'll leave when you're ready. Oh and I should inform you of your little friend, Cream… she's doing well."

Nothing could prepare her for his reacting as Sonic snapped up at her, almost jumping completely off the bed and bawling his fists up ready, "Don't you dare mess with me!"

Quickly the detective stood up and tried to calm him down, "No I'm not. She's made a good recovery; the doctors revived her just in the nick of time. She's in her hospital room now."

Everything changed in that moment. Sonic was no longer hostile, but gasped with his hands over his mouth and fell back down to his bed. He was stunned, completely immobile as the words took their time to process in his mind. "She's alive?"

"Yes."

"But Nack… he… he…"

"She's a tough little girl. Unfortunately Nack didn't stick around long enough to find out she had come to."

It was so much for Sonic to take in, he wasn't sure if he believed it or not. "Can I see her?"

The detective hesitated, "You can, but I have to warn you… she's suffering with amnesia. She can't remember anything from the past three years. I'm sorry."

The news was harder to take in then she had expected. The fifteen year old looked down to his lap, his heart shattering in front of her. "She doesn't remember me?" he asked sadly.

All she did was shake her head.

Sonic took a trembling breath and closed his eyes for a moment, letting it sink in. "Can I still see her though?"

"Of course. I'll take you down."

She hadn't needed to though, Sonic already knew his way. He travelled ahead of her with, rushing faster then she could keep up and he was there in minutes.

Her room number started to count up as he followed the doors, passing everything like it didn't matter. Finally he was at her room, and he placed a hand on the handle.

But he stopped.

Sonic was silent. He stood at the door and watched through the window. Inside, a young girl cried loudly, wrapped in the arms of an older woman who held her as tight as she could, afraid that if she let go she would lose her again.

Her mother… Creams mother. They had found her.

Slightly out of breath the detective caught up with him, and it didn't take her long to know what was going through his mind. She waited for him to make the choice, refusing to speak or intervene in anyway.

For the first time in the nightmare's he endured, Sonic felt the smallest, and genuine smile tug at the side of his lips. He was happy… but not for himself.

He let go of the handle. Cream didn't need him anymore, and he didn't want to trigger any memories. Not now she was free.

* * *

Tails wasted no time the moment he walked into his house. Ignoring his parents, he and Knuckles ran straight for his room, keeping the door shut and opening the laptop on the bed.

"Alright, let's see now" the young fox mused, opening up the folder that contained all the footage he downloaded from Robotnik's office. "Alright looks like this is only going back two months and it's downloaded the security recordings for every room."

"We don't have time to waste watching every classroom for two months. Okay let's see, we want Mrs. Winters class, can you single that out?"

"I can, but her camera has been offline for a while remember?"

"Damn it, how convenient for her" Knuckles spat sarcastically, he placed a hand under his chin and thought for a moment, trying to think of where else Sonic had been that could have been helpful.

"That's it!" turned out Tails was doing the same thing, only more successfully, "Remember that day we had the Science project and Sonic got so angry he threw the chair at her?"

Knuckles snorted, "Yeah that was classic!"

"No remember afterwards, she dragged him out the classroom. I didn't even think that was allowed."

The echidna instantly caught on, "Oh yeah I remember, it was so intense. He was acting weird after that day, wouldn't hang out with any of us. We gotta find the recording, see what happened. But where did she take him too?"

"Good question" Tails thought for a moment, "I know, we can just follow them."

Knuckles raised his brow.

Tails rolled his eyes, wondering why the answer wasn't obvious, "By the cameras. Watch" he swiftly went back to the laptop and his fingers danced across the keys. Knuckles couldn't see what he was typing, but soon a video popped up with an old date on the bottom and the watched intently.

"I located it to the right day and time it happened, if I compare the videos to the right times I can find out where they're going. I mean, where they went to" he explained.

Then after a moment of watching the hallway, they saw an angered teacher drag a frightened blue hedgehog out of the science classroom before pulling him out of the cameras sight.

Tails clicked for the next piece of film and followed them until the two virtual figures were at the teachers' lounge. The fox searched in his downloaded files and found the recordings for the lounge area. He brought them up and set them for the right time and date.

Then they watched it.

Their former teacher, who was the victim of assault, slammed a book over Sonic's head, knocking him unconscious… tied him to a chair… and tortured him.

"_Comfy?_... _I wouldn't bother Sonic, there are plenty of other things you should be more worried about now… you haven't been out for long, but long enough for me to figure out what to do with you."_

He was screaming through duct tape, begging her for mercy, while she burnt him with a cigar.

Tails threw his hands over his eyes. Small, frightened sobs choked their way out as his heart rang heavy. Knuckles couldn't tare his eyes away from the screen, every mark she left on his friend chipped away at his stomach and the urge to punch something solid only grew and grew.

His razor like teeth started to chatter, he was so angry he didn't know how to contain it. Yet somehow he managed to keep it together, and placed an arm around the eight year olds shoulders who wept.

"I'm so sorry Knuckles, I'm sorry! If I'd of known what Sonic was going through I would never have used for an experiment. I would never have told those secrets, I-I thought he was being nasty out of selfishness. I should have been there for him" Tails cried out guiltily, the pain become unbearable to him. He had expected the older echidna to turn on him, agree that this was his fault and he was going to suffer for it. But surprisingly that didn't happen. Instead Knuckles, who was known for his tough guy act and lack of sympathy, pulled him in closer, letting the fox lean his head against his shoulder.

"No, we were too hard on you" he lowly admitted, with much difficulty though. "But it doesn't matter what happened okay, that stuff between us can be settled later okay. Now we need to find out about Mrs. Winters and what else she has done. Now… do you think you can handle watching more?"

Tails waited a moment. His mind screamed out no, but he ended up saying yes.

Reluctantly he wiped at his eyes, trying to recover as much as he could before he placed his fingers back to the laptop. At this point in the footage Sonic was on the floor, being sick. Tails started to gag.

"Okay turning that off" Knuckles said while Xing the video, feeling like it was too much at once. "Well we have evidence that Mrs. Winters was hurting Sonic, what about that rumour of the two… kissing together, how can we prove against that."

Shaking his head, Tails did his best to move on. "Right well, maybe something in the hallways. I'll pull up outside her classroom and fast forward" he said, putting the plan into action.

They watched all the way through but nothing really happened. They saw Sonic talk to Amy before Mrs. Winters called him to her classroom and then the fiasco of when he was pushed out, but nothing much after that. Feeling disappointed they let the video play while they thought of new ideas.

"Hey wait stop, what's that?" Knuckles pointed to the screen. Tails rewound the video and let it play.

It was during class time and no one was around, but Rouge walked up to Sonic's locker. She took out an envelope from her bag and pushed it through the thin slates in the locker door, and then she walked off.

"Oh my gosh, Rouge was the one who planted those pictures? What does she have to do with this?" the echidna cried out furiously. Tails was totally stunned, "Rouge? Sonic's ex-girlfriend? W-why would she do that?"

Knuckles quickly climbed off the bed, his temper getting the better of him, "I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."

"Wait where are you going? I need you to help me."

"Just keep going through the videos, make a collection and I'll meet you back here" with that Knuckles left the room, and Tails was alone.

The confused fox stared at the door, wondering what just happened. He looked back at his laptop now feeling lost on his own. "Right focus. Find more files."

He pulled up the folder and looked through all the dated footages, sighing as he wasn't sure what to look for. But something suddenly caught his eyes. This one camera had a starting date that was later then all the others. In fact it was the same day as the Science project.

He played it, and the first thing he saw was his class. He himself was holding a repaired laptop while Sonic was holding the emerald… The emerald?

"That's it! The emerald must have fixed the camera! I can see what happened in Mrs. Winter's classroom… and maybe I can find out who took the emerald too."


	44. Fear

**My lovely's, thank you so much for reviewing the last chapter, I know it wasn't that eventful, however this time round, I will warn you it's tense (or so I think so)  
**

**I'm kind of sad to say this but... we're not that far from the end. **

**I know it must seem like this story was going to be dragged on for an enternity but no, we are close. **

**Btw the foster parents in this are supposed to be Sonic's foster parents from Sonic Underground. **

**Enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

Sonic hadn't needed to see the house after being stuck in a car for nearly an hour to know that he already hated it. He didn't need to meet the couple that came to the door with open arms as the detective greeted them to know he would hate them as well.

He had already made up his mind the moment this journey was set into motion.

Jack and Aleena put the act on perfectly for the law enforcing woman. The big ginger dog with his wife who wore a green dress with her hair tide up pranced around like the perfect couple. She was the first one to speak, looking down at Sonic in a way that could only be patronizing.

"It's Sonic right?" she spoke in a soft voice, "It's lovely to finally meet you. My name is Aleena, this is my husband Jack. We hope you make yourself at home."

Fake. She was so fake. Was it only Sonic who could see that?

When the teen hedgehog didn't reply she sent a small, concerned glance to her husband, who quickly stepped into action. "Well you sure must be tired son. How about we show you around the place and tell you what's what. Aleena will take the lead, I'll go get your bags" he patted his wife's shoulder, handing the task to her before he walked to the police car to retrieve the bags.

Aleena smiled in a friendly way once more, stepping to the side to allow the boy and detective access to her house. As they walked around the rooms she placed her small hand on Sonic's back, but he shrugged her off and moved to the other side of the room.

If it bothered her then she didn't show it.

"Okay so upstairs is the bathroom here… This is our bedroom; if you need anything at any time don't be shy to come get us. And lastly the most exciting room is yours" she opened the door wide and walked inside.

The room was a lot bigger than the one Nack gave him. The walls were a light brown and actually looked cheerful. Sonic couldn't help but wonder around, his hands clenched tight in his pockets. It was like they had known he was coming ages ago, providing everything he needed; a couple of shelves, draws, a desk, and even a double bed.

"Whoa Sonic, isn't this room great? Looks really comfy" the detective mused as she also tried to get a reaction out of him, but when it didn't work she and Aleena swapped a concerned glance.

Jack walked in with a medium sized suitcase under his arm, "I thought there'd be more bags then this but I guess it saves making two trips" he laughed while putting it down next to the draws. "So you happy with this, everything look good?"

"We can always redecorate if you don't like it. We want you to feel comfortable" Aleena added.

Sonic didn't bother looking at them; instead he observed the room more, almost desperate to find a problem. His eyes trailed to the stand that was next to the bed, noticing the night stand and the lamp that rested on top of it. Quickly he went to it. He picked up the lamp and he threw it into the bin. "I don't like lamps" was all he said. The couple couldn't help but show their disappointment.

Going down stairs they toured the different rooms. "Okay this is the living room. We keep the T.V and computer in here, just to keep an eye on things" Jack explained.

"Sounds reasonable" the detective agreed. Sonic barely looked, keeping his eyes on the floor. Aleena tapped his shoulder lightly before he had a chance to shrug her off and pointed towards the small draw against the wall. "We have a few video games for you to play. If you ever want to play one just ask and Jack will get you the controller."

For the first time Sonic actually responded, "You mean you hide everything so I can't do what I want?"

"Oh oh no, it's not like that. We just want to make sure you're…"

"I'm not what? Stepping out of line?" Sonic spoke aggressively, his brow knitting together as he impatiently watched her fumble around. "Of course not, we're here to help you. We just want to make sure you're not spending too much time indulged in a violent game or something" she replied, her voice growing quiet as if she was trying not to embarrass him by getting the attention of Jack and the detective, who spoke amongst themselves.

Sonic clicked his tongue in the side of his cheek and shook his head, clearly not interested. In one last attempt Aleena opened the draw, "We don't play violent games in this house but that doesn't mean we don't have anything fun. Go ahead, take a look."

Sonic wasn't in the mood for it, but she persisted so with a small groan he kneeled down and took a look. There wasn't a great selection, just a few party games, racing games and a dancing game. None grabbed his attention, accept from one.

Raising his brow Sonic picked out one of the games and stood up, looking at the front cover. He read out the title, "Mighty the Armadillo." His mind suddenly stopped working. His thoughts took longer to process and he felt like he was frozen in a vortex of some sort.

"No that…" he kept staring at the character on the front cover, a black and red armadillo he recognised too well. "That's not right…"

"What's wrong?" Aleena asked him, concern filling her voice. Jack and the detective soon caught on to the problem and turned their attention to the blue hedgehog, who started to laugh nervously. "No… you guys are messing with me, that's not… I can't…" he stammered, his eyes never moving away from the game and the character he recently met.

"What's the problem son?" Jack asked this time, as they all stood and waited for an explanation.

However none of them had been prepared as for once second the game was in his hands, the next it was flying through the air and smashed right in the centre of the television screen. Aleena cried out in shock with her hand thrown over her mouth, Jack had gasped sharply from the shock.

All three adults turned to the hedgehog, stunned silence as the boy just stood angrily. Sonic was waiting for it, waiting for the shouting and the raised fists, but when it didn't happen he threw his arms into the air. "What do I care, I'm a freaking schizophrenic now!" he shouted before turning his back and running up to his room.

He nearly tripped over his bag as he rushed around, desperately closing the door. There wasn't a lock so he couldn't keep them out. He looked around for something heavy and found the desk of draws.

Going to one side he pushed at its edge, but surprisingly it didn't move. Sonic tried pushing harder but it wasn't budging out of place. His anger was starting to subside, and was giving way to panic as he rushed to the wardrobe, but that didn't move either. Looking at the bottom he saw that everything had been drilled down, making it impossible for him to move anything to barricade the door.

Sonic's ear twitched as the sound of heavy foot stepped echoed along the stairs. His heart started to race and he grew short of breath, now afraid of what was going to happen. Quickly he rushed back to the door and pressed his back against it, using all his strength to keep it closed as someone tried to open it from the other side.

"Sonic? Sonic let me in, we need to talk."

Hearing Jack's voice, Sonic could tell that the man wasn't happy, and instantly he felt tears stream down his mussel. "No just go away, leave me alone" he cried out, keeping the door shut.

"Sonic I'm not going to yell at you, I just want to talk."

"No you don't. You'll hit me! Soon as the detective goes you'll hurt me, I know what you people are like! Just go away!" Sonic placed both his hands on the door and using all his body strength he kept it in place. But the man had stopped trying to force his way in.

"I know you don't trust us yet, but we're not like that" he insisted, the tone in his voice growing a lot softer and patient. "Look, I'll give you some time to calm down okay. We'll be making dinner soon so hopefully you'll get yourself settled. Just call if you need anything."

With that Sonic heard the man leave, his footsteps slowly fading away.

Releasing a sharp cry the blue teen fell to his knees, slowly curling himself up against the door as he buried his face into his arms, sobbing loudly.

* * *

The sink was filled with blood. It was everywhere. On the floor, on the matts, spattered on the walls.

Sonic stared into the mirror and dropped the razor blade in the sink. The tears that never seized to fall stained his muzzle, his cheeks burned with irritated skin. The bags under his eyes had worsened, his complexion was too pale to be natural, and now he saw himself for the first time in a while without his hoodie on. He saw how ugly he had become.

His ribs showed through, his arms had shrunken down, no longer showing the healthy muscles he once had. All Sonic could see was the scars, and the bruises, and the burns, and everything else he had that damaged his once powerful body.

He was hideous. He was ugly… he was a monster.

The teenager's lips quivered, raising his arms he watched the fresh cuts slowly bleed. The blood was everywhere, it rained from his arms and he wished it he could make it stop.

Sonic didn't hear the bathroom door open, nor did he notice when the light flickered on. He choked with despair, never taking his eyes away from the blood. His gloves no longer white but stained with red.

"Oh my gosh…" he only just heard the voice cry out. Turning towards the door, Sonic stood still, trembling hysterically as he stared up to the older man, not knowing what he'll do.

Tears ran down his face as sobs broke from his voice. The older man's eyes widened at him, seeing what he had done. Carefully he stepped forward, but Sonic darted back, crying out in fear.

Jack held out his hands and slowly shushed him. "It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you" he reassured.

Sonic shook his head, staring at him like he was a beast about to pounce. When he took a small step closer the hedgehog backed away once more. But he felt his legs bang into the side of the bath and losing his balance he fell down to the side.

Jack quickly rushed to his side, his intention only being to help him. But the moment Sonic felt the man's hands rest on his shoulders he shrieked lowly and tensed up, "No! Just leave me alone!" he begged, his blood soaked hands pressing against his eyes and leaving stains along his muzzle.

Jack breathed deeply, needing a moment to think. He had dealt with so many troubled kids in the past but he had never seen anything like this before.

Gently he removed his hands, but he reached up and moved the hedgehogs own ones from his eyes. As Sonic wept fearfully, he pulled the red gloves off and threw them into the bathtub, making a note to deal with it later. He held out Sonic's arm, inspecting the damage that was done.

When doing so the teen started to fight, his breath becoming ridged and shallow as he tried to pull his arms away. "No! No stop please don't!" he begged, without knowing what he was begging for.

Jack shook his head, only feeling the young ones pain. "You've really taken a beating over these past few months haven't you?" he ask sympathetically. Sonic stared at him confused.

The older man moved to the side where he reached the cabinet and from there took out disinfectant and a cotton pad. Pouring it out, he took a firm hold on Sonic's arm once again who only watched with worry, "This may hurt a little, but it will do you good" he warned before slowly wiping the pad along the cuts.

Surprisingly Sonic didn't make a sound, just flinched as it touched sensitive areas.

"W-why a-are you d-doing this?" his small, trembling voice asked out, too afraid to look the man in the face. Jack looked at him though, his brow drawing upwards as pity formed in his heart, "You mean why am I helping you?"

"No!" Sonic snapped back at him, his legs twitching like crazy as his chest rushed up and down, "W-why… w-why…" he couldn't finish, breaking down into bitter tears as he lowered his head.

Jack didn't need him to finish though, now realising what he was going to say, "You still think we're going to hurt you don't you?"

Sonic nodded.

With a deep sigh, the older man took out another cotton pad and moved onto the next arm. "Sonic, we became foster parents for troubled children because we knew what it was like. Aleena and I have both been through similar things that you have, and we wanted to make a difference, to help children get past the nightmares."

Sonic looked up at him for a moment, his green eyes widened. But then he felt the knot tighten in his stomach, his heart burned and he scrunched up his eyes and clenched his teeth, "No you're lying to me!" he wept loudly, unable to believe it, "You're just saying it to shut me up, I know what you're doing!"

Jack watched as the teenager pulled his arm away, turning his back to him and leaning up against the wall, hiding his face in the tiles as he cried.

He hadn't noticed before, but the older man saw the scars that ran along the boys back. The patches of missing fur, like he had been whipped by something. He ran a hand through his spiked up hair, pushing his lips together as he started to realise why the boy was so afraid of getting hurt again. He must have gone through a lot.

Reaching out, Jack placed his hand on the teens back, resting it between his two quills. And just from that touch alone Sonic started to hyperventilate, panic taking control and he started to sway side to side to shake the man off.

Removing his hand, the older man stood up from the side of the bath. He went to the cabinet and took out a roll of gauze. He kneeled down in front of the hedgehog, and given his tall height he was level with his eyes. "Will you at least let me bandage you up?"

Sonic turned his head away from the wall, looking over at the man and the gauze in his hand. He could stop the sudden cry as grief over took him, making his heart feel swollen and empty. The man placed the gauze down and consciously rose his hands to the boy's cheeks. He cupped them lightly and brushed away the tears with his thumb. "Hey it will be okay. I know you don't trust us now but you'll see. Everything will be fine."

Sonic felt his own hand rise up and shakenly placed it over his. He soon leaned into the touch, realising how cold it was against his burning face.

Jack started to smile, "There see. There's no need to be afraid. Calm down" he urged softly, seeing the hedgehog quieten down and wanting to reassure him it was okay to do so. Now he could hopefully get a real answer, "Tell me how you feel?"

Sonic blinked a little, still not letting go of his hand, but he welled up once again when he gave his reply, "Like I want to die!"

"But why? Why do you feel like that?"

"I don't know!" he cried out truthfully, shaking his head at the frustration of his own mind. Sonic felt both his hands draw to the man's arm where he held tightly for support, "I just… I just… I can't do it anymore. I can't accept that anything's changed, I can't! B-but I want to. I really, really want too but I'm too afraid… Things are supposed to go right now, things are gonna get better, and whenever that happens something always goes wrong and I get hurt! And if things don't go wrong, I'll make them go wrong, just to prove I'm not crazy… But I am! I'm going insane and no one cares!"

"I care."

"No you don't!" Sonic pulled himself away from the man, standing up on unsteady legs. "I just…" he breathed deeply, a sob ripping out, causing him to be unable to speak clearly, "I just want to go home…"

With that he left, rushing to his room. He shut the door once again and fell to his bed, feeling like he couldn't stand a second longer.

The once, tidy made up bed was now thrown about as he pulled all his blankets and pillow to his small frame, burying his head in them as he bawled his heart into them, out of control and no longer caring.

He had expected to be left alone, shunned away from the outside. But his ears picked up as his bedroom door creaked opened. He felt the bed weigh down as someone sat on the side of it and a large hand stoked the back of his head. Sonic didn't move. He continued to cry into the pillows while the man took a hold of his arms and wrapped the gauze around them, being as careful as he could.

* * *

Sonic didn't know how much time had passed now. There wasn't a clock in this room.

Lying on his side, his eyes stared aimlessly to the wall, being completely too lost in his thoughts to even blink, regardless movement of any kind.

It felt different, lying on a bed without wearing his purple hoodie. He wanted to go get it but he thought the man had taken it away to be washed. Now he was left exposed, feeling the sheets brush on his skin. His hands still trembled, not as bad as before though. Gauze wrapped from his wrists to his elbows, but at least Jack had found a new pair of gloves for him to wear.

But Sonic kept thinking of the hoodie. How long had he been wearing it for now? A few months, give or take. He hadn't taken it off much, just the times it was forced off him and when Cream was cold… Cream… He really believed she had died. And he blamed himself. He acted so selfishly, he deserved everything he got.

Did he?

Amy didn't think so… but then who was she to say anything? She created that fake account and made all those rumours. She destroyed his reputation in seconds and worst of all she made him trust her. She made him need her. He spent years trying to avoid her as well, hiding behind friends, taking different hallways, throwing something at her until she left him alone… oh…

That's she did it. She loved him and he rejected her, so she ruined his life.

He wouldn't have been so hurt if it was Rouge on her own, that he would have accepted, but not Amy. Not the only girl that loved him.

Would she have gone through with it? Would she have run away with him and never told the truth. She didn't have any intention to do so in the forest, instead she put all the blame on Mrs. Winters…

The teacher… the teacher that hit him, burned him, left him with scars… She found out his weakness, his fear of small spaces and used it against him, framing him to make it look like he tried to hang himself! She was the one who after discovering he self-harmed, used it in a way to torture him, opening the wounds and making it worse! And the rumours! The rumours about the two of them being together, actually having an illegal affair… She did that! She attacked him, she forced his hand on her and made it the whole School believe she was the victim and he was a sick perverted monster! That's why everyone hated him, that's why he was here now, wallowing in self-pity and fearing the people who are supposed to protect him.

She was his teacher! She was supposed to help him!

What did he ever do to deserve this? Name call? Mess around with his friends? Put his shoes on the desk?!

His life is ruined because of that?

And where was she now? At home, with her backside shoved in a chair, her feet up and enjoying the early retirement no doubt someone else is paying for because she's a "victim of assault"…

No. Not anymore. Payback comes now.

Sonic got out of his bed. He rushed down the stairs and went into the kitchen. He opened a draw, he pulled out a knife.

Jack and Aleena didn't catch him in time before he ignored any reasonable thought he had left and he ran, leaving nothing but a trail of blue light behind.


	45. Destroy My World

**It's a small chapter I'm afraid, but it holds a lot.**

**Thank you all for the reviews, but I'm sure you're eager to read on.**

**So enjoy :)**

* * *

He didn't know if he could go through with it. But he had to. Sonic waited at her door, the knife was held behind his back with a trembling hand.

It wasn't hard to find her house. Sonic remembered when he and Knuckles pranked her before and found her address. He ran here, using his speed for the first time in a while. If it hurt him or not he didn't know. He couldn't feel anything. He was too numb.

The door opened.

Sonic breathed deeply.

He watched her stare at him with confusion, tying up her bathrobe and giving a cold look as she asked him what he was doing here.

No more games now. No more!

Sonic pulled the knife from behind his back, and with a sharp cry he lunged forward, aiming for her chest.

Mrs. Winters only had seconds to realise what was happening. She screamed as the knife came down, nipping the edge of her skin. Out of reflects she shot her hand and grabbed around Sonic's arm, catching him just in time.

The hedgehog fought against her, pulling back his arm and prying her hand off. But in one quick movement, and strength that outweighed his, she pulled him into her house, slamming the door close with only her foot as she grabbed hold of his other wrist.

"NO!" Sonic snapped, anger and fear mixing together as he tried to force the knife closer to her chest, but his former teacher moved out the way. In turn she clutched her claws down into his tender skin, hitting all the wrong nerves as his previous injuries started to bleed.

He screamed out as pain consumed him, and involuntary he dropped the knife to the floor. Mrs. Winters pushed him away. It all happened so sudden he didn't even realise. He looked down at the gauze on his arms, now covered in red. When he looked back up his heart suddenly stopped.

Mrs. Winters stood, with hatred and anger filling her eyes, and the knife placed firmly and steadily in her hand. She held it out, threatening if he dare moved.

Sonic panicked, he didn't know what to do. His eyes were widened in fear as the horrible truth of what he was trying to do and what she would do to him now ate away in his mind. He started to back away from her, his hands raised high, "N-no… no please…" he slowly begged.

She ascended to him, pushing the knife closer. Sonic made a move to run but her arm reached out and grabbed him before he made it to the door. He started to yell, too afraid of her now as she dragged him into her living room, throwing him down to the sofa.

When he felt his back hit the cushions, Sonic couldn't control himself any longer. He held his arms up high in a feeble attempt to protect himself while the tears streamed down his face. He sobbed loudly, his mind burning and his heart slowly tore apart.

The teacher stood above him, the knife held out in warning. She watched as Sonic hid from her and emotionally broke down before her very eyes. "You were going to kill me" she spoke coldly, her eyes piercing sharper then the knife would.

Sonic didn't respond, lowering himself deeper and deeper as he wept.

She repeated herself, "You were going to _kill_ me!"

"What did you expect?!" Sonic snapped, throwing his arms down and finally looking her in the eyes. "What did you think I was going to do?! After all this time, you ruined my life! I had everything and you stole it from me! I lost my Uncle, I lost my friends, I even lost my dignity because of you! And why? Because I said you were old? Because I messed around with my friends, because I didn't do as I was told? That's why you destroyed everything I had… You destroyed me!"

His hand gripped at his heart where he felt each beat hurt more and more. "Look at me…" he breathed, in so much pain and so broken, he looked at her with dimmed, grey emerald eyes. He showed the anguish and the trauma he had been through, and all the misery he had experienced. His mind was dead, his sanity too far gone to be saved.

He asked her to look at him, and she did.

"My life is dead… and you killed me… Why?"

Mrs. Winters said nothing. Then she lowered the knife.

She didn't look guilty, or feel any pity to him, but instead she sighed and walked to the mantel piece above the fire place. She threw the knife back to Sonic, making it land next to him on the sofa. He picked it up, not understanding why she would do that.

"It was never about School Sonic" she spoke, for the first time her voice sounding calm and honest. The blue hedgehog had no choice but to listen to her.

"You messed around, you insulted me, and you undermined my authority _every-_single-day. You were the thing that personally made my job a hell, you and you alone. But that wasn't why I did it" she paused for a moment, "I… wanted you to lose it all. I wanted your life to be taken away from you, for you to feel what true loss was like. I knew if I hurt you more you would blow up. It would only have been a matter of time before you turned on those who looked after you. I knew you would have acted up and become so bad you'd be sent away and you'd lose everything. Robotnik assured me of it… he saw the footage in the teachers room, and he covered for me ever since… but why I did this? Why I enjoyed destroying your life?"

Mrs. Winters turned to the mantel piece; she picked up a small photo frame and stared at it. And Sonic finally saw an emotion in her he didn't think was there. He saw sadness in her eyes.

"You destroyed mine."

Sonic stared up at her, his mind in pieces now, "I-I don't… understand…" he was afraid to say.

"You don't even remember her name do you?"

Oh no… no… this all happened with Shadow… this happened before! What did he do?

"You didn't even stop to think about her did you? My beautiful Honey…"

He froze, his mind racing back to memories he didn't know he had. The girl! The girl that set up those rumours of him and Rouge, who made out that he was forcing the bat girl to be with him, the one who went all over SpaceBook to ruin his reputation and landed him in trouble with several concerned parents and authorities.

"H-Honey… Winters…" he slowly put it together, the reality crashing down on him as it sunk in the bottom of his stomach. Sonic never thought of the name, it never even crossed his mind. "S-she… s-she was y-your daughter?"

The teacher almost slammed the photo back on the mantel, scrunching her eyes tight to stop the tears from breaking free. "She was my world. She was all I had. Then you came along, you with narcissistic attitude and the need for everyone to worship the ground you walked on. She was a good girl. She came home telling me about this horrible, blue boy who was nasty to her best friend. I didn't even know she was on SpaceBook, until I found a week later… When I found her… hanging…" she threw her hand to her mouth, unable to go any further.

Sonic shook his head, his chest raking frantically while he couldn't breathe. "No… no she… s-she changed Schools, e-everyone said so. No one said anything!" he started to lose it, his mind flustered with horror and refused to believe it.

"Another rumour" Mrs. Winters scoffed bitterly, wiping her eyes and regaining control, "She was _struggling_… She wanted a boy to call her beautiful! She was dealing with her weight for so long and then you came in. With your insults, your pictures and your perverted attitude towards women! Her death is on you… It's on _you_."

His heart raced, his stomach churned. He felt his hands reach up and pull at his quills. "No! No no no…" he couldn't comprehend, he couldn't take it in. The tears flew and his throat closed. He couldn't breathe; his heart was going to be torn in half. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" he couldn't function. Nothing worked anymore. He couldn't move. He couldn't… he can't…

"No… No… NO!"

He took the knife, and he ran. He didn't look back, Sonic just ran as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was going or which direction, he just ran as far away as possible.

But he couldn't run anymore. His legs stopped and he fell to the ground, landing in the middle of nowhere. He plunged the knife into the mud, pulling it out and repeating in a fit of madness.

"NOOOOOOO!" a blood curdled scream ripped from him, as he threw the knife and pounded the ground with his fists. He scratched his arms against the stones; he banged his head down on the floor, he ripped out the quills from his head. He cried and cried, but nothing changed his guilt. Nothing he did could change what happened. Nothing saved him anymore.

Sonic fell down, his body lying in the mud where he belonged. He hid his face in his hands, weeping heartbreakingly for the mistakes he made. For everything he did. All the bullying, the torments, the hitting… He wanted to go back, he wanted to change what happened but he couldn't!

He wanted to change himself! He didn't want to be this person, he didn't want to live with his past anymore. He wanted to erase it out, somehow, anyway, he wanted to destroy it all and pray, _pray_, that it never happened!

… But he couldn't.

As Sonic lay on the ground, staring at nothing but the blood on his arms… he knew what he had to do now.

There was only one way out and he knew what price he had to pay, for his father, for Honey… for everyone. Every life he ever ruined.

He had to end it, and end it now… he had to stop this.

Before he hurt someone else…

He couldn't fight it, or put it off anymore.

Sonic needed to die.


	46. Final Goodbye

**Well you guys, it's been a small while but I'm back with a new chapter. And hard as it is to say, we are nearing the end.**

**A big big thank you for all the reviews, and I want to say thank you to Crystal just cus I found her review really sweet, thank you :)**

**ALSO BIG FAT WARNING!**

**This chapter talks a lot about suicide, if anyone! Anyone feels uneasy about the subject, and about death then please please do not read this chapter because I don't want to upset people. **

**Okay so warning has been in place, I'll let you read on.**

**Enjoy xx**

* * *

It wasn't hard for Knuckles to find her. Luckily SpaceBook had its uses.

As the white bat walked out of the night club, dressed in a tight purple outfit, she had been completely off guard as the red echidna walked up behind her and grabbed her arm. "Hey!" she cried out, alarmed.

She recognised him easily but was still at a loss of what was going on when Knuckles dragged her to the side of the building, hiding both of them out of sight.

"My my, if you wanted me alone you should have just said" Rouge laughed, reaching to gently brush his arm. Only in alarm she gasped as both of Knuckles strong hands gript around her neck and pushed her against the wall. "What are you doing?!"

"You put those pictures in Sonic's locker, why?" he demanded, not playing any of her games. Rouge glared at him, prying his hands away before she choked for air and rubbed at her throat. "You got a lot of nerve attacking a lady…"

"A _lady_ wouldn't frame a guy younger than her for sleeping with his teacher!" Knuckles snapped back, "Now tell me why! Where did you get those pictures from in the first place?"

Knowing there wasn't much excuse now; Rouge simply smiled and dusted her arm, refusing to let him think he had the best of her. "I made the pictures, happy? I'm good with photoshop. And as for the reason why, I thought it would be nice reminder for Sonic as to why his life was ruined. Too bad he left before he could see them though. I thought he'd stick around for at least another day before running home crying to his Uncle."

Knuckles felt his fists tighten and his teeth clench, "You started the rumour. You were responsible for the SpaceBook page and everything that was on it."

"Guilty" she laughed, "Though I can't take all credit, Amy played her little part too."

He knew it. He knew there was something suspicious about Amy, she was working with Rouge. But that didn't matter; all he could ask was "Why? Why are you so obsessed with revenge? Was all this because he left you? Because you had your reputation thrown around in the mud! Are you that sad and pathetic that you would go this far just to prove a point?"

Something he said struck her hard, and Knuckles could see her flinch uneasily. "Do you really believe I'm that shallow?" Rouge spat. "You know you're asking a lot of questions but I want to know why _you've_ been so obsessed. I saw you talking to Amy, I know you've been looking for Sonic. Why are you so desperate to get him back? It's not like you owe him anything…" she smiled widely, watching him look away shamefully, "Oh wait, yes. Yes you do."

Rouge stepped closer to him, her hips swaying as she walked. Her hands reached up and with a single finger she traced the marking on his chest, "You can't forget about it can you? That night we had together. It was so much fun" she breathed, "You can't deny you loved every second of it!"

Knuckles grabbed her hand and pushed her away, "That was a year ago!"

"And I was dating Sonic at the time" she finished for him, saying what he couldn't admit. "Kind of a crappy thing to do to your best friend, I mean I got my deserved justice. Sonic cheated on me. But you? You never said a word and to this day he has no idea. You think helping him now is gonna change anything?"

Knuckles stared at her, the pieces finally drawing together and he felt like he started to understand. "That's it isn't it? You did all this because Sonic cheated on you and you couldn't handle it!"

Rouge crossed her arms and looked away, drawing a sigh, "No it's not…"

"You are so petty! You can't even take what you throw out. I may have got behind his back but I don't feel guilty, because you want to know the reality of it? Sonic hated you! You made his life miserable. All he ever did was complain about how much a slutty burden you were to him and how he wanted to end things but didn't know how. The only reason he put up with you was because you made him look good. You were nothing more than an accessory to him! I may have had the wrong intentions, but I don't regret what happened, because it meant he could finally get away from you!"

Rouge stared at him, her eyes narrowed and cold. She didn't hide anymore, she was furious at what he said, but not at what she heard. "You still believe it don't you?" her voice was slowly breaking, and Knuckles raised his brow.

"You truly think this was all because he left me…" suddenly she scoffed, her forced smile faltering in a way the echidna had never seen. "It had nothing… and I mean _NOTHING_… to do with that…" her eyes started to water, and her mask was shattered.

"He killed her… He killed my best friend!"

Knuckles was completely silent, his fists untightened and his shoulders slowly dropping.

With a sharp cry Rouge rubbed her eyes, composing herself as much as she could. "Honey only looked out for me. She saw how much of a tool Sonic was and she told me to leave him. And it's true, I lied to her. I told her Sonic did things he never did and that's why she attacked him online, all to protect me. But then Sonic snapped back. He destroyed her! He is the reason Honey is dead! And no one believed it! Half the School thought she moved, but we all knew. Sonic didn't even care… He didn't care! He took away her life to why shouldn't I destroy his?!" She screamed out, her hand lashing out ready to attack the echidna, but Knuckles stopped her.

Grabbing her wrist and taking her by the shoulders, it took everything to stop himself from shaking her in her emotional state. He drew his face as close to Rouges without touching and spoke through a clenched jaw, "_Listen_ to me. If you wanted revenge for Honey's life then you attacked the wrong person. Sonic isn't the one that killed her" Knuckles let her go and stood back. Rouge stared with a trembling form, her eyes widened as the words sunk in "W-what… B-but… on SpaceBook…"

Shamefully Knuckles turned his head down and closed his eyes for a moment. "He did, I know. He called her fat and tormented her, but that wasn't what did it… She was going to go to the police about what he had done, and I stopped her. I threatened that if she went through with it a group of us would take her to the woods and torture her. It was an empty threat but… The next day they found her… she hung herself… I let Sonic take the blame."

The white bat lost her breath, choking as she was filled with horror. "No… no" she could grasp it, it wasn't right. Knuckles finally looked at her, "I never thought it would end the way it did, and I didn't know how to live with it. I was in therapy for months but in the end I couldn't tell anyone. No one spoke about it… it became easy to forget. The reason Sonic didn't care was because he didn't know! So you see Rouge, you were wrong. I'm the one you should have been after. Not Sonic."

She fell to the floor, drawing her knees to her chest where she stared off into the world beyond the corner of the building. She couldn't face him, not now.

But Knuckles kneeled down, being only a foot away from her, "Rouge" he grabbed her attention, "If you know where Sonic is, tell me now, and _stop_ this."

She was silent, but released a heavy sigh, "He's at the orphanage. Shadow told me."

Knuckles stood up, he didn't even question how she knew the black hedgehog. All he cared about was the answer. So he left her where she was, alone, heartbroken and frightened in the dark. Rouge had never felt so vulnerable; she had never looked so before. Her brother had been the one to induce her to Shadow, having gone to the same G.U.N facility as he did. Her plan had been solid ever since then. Sonic would have paid but… Knuckles… not Knuckles…

She really felt something for him.

* * *

With a low sigh Tails walked along the pavement, his head down as he watched his brown, worn out shoes tread in front of the other repeatedly. His hands were held behind his back and in his hold was a small USB stick containing all the footage of Mrs. Winters he had put together, videos of her slashing, beating and burning his former best friend. Now though, it felt like all that time had been wasted. The second he was finished he ran all the way to Sonic's house, he pounded on the door praying that someone would answer.

But there was nothing.

The light was on inside and he knew he could hear the T.V but no matter how much he knocked the door, or how loudly he called out, the older hedgehog never came.

He knew Charles was ignoring a lot of people recently, but Tails had thought it would be different this time. He had evidence to prove Sonic was innocent and yet the older man still chose to ignore him.

What was the young fox to do now? Perhaps he should go to the police with it, and then they could reason with Sonic's Uncle.

Looking up he approached the gate surrounding his home. Before walking through he felt a small tug on his shoulder. Spinning around he saw it was Knuckles, "There you are, where did you go?"

The echidna could tell easily that the fox had been worried, but he shook his head as he tried to regain his breath, only realising just now how much he had run to get here. "I went… to find Rouge" he panted, taking a few seconds to adjust. "I know where Sonic is. He's back at the orphanage."

"What?" Tails cried sharply. "How could Charles send him back there? After everything that happened to him!"

Knuckles shook his head, "I don't know. We knew he wasn't around here but I assumed he was sent to live with other relatives or something. But if we get a move on we can try and find him" Knuckles started walking towards the house as if he was the one who lived there with Tails trailing behind, "But we don't know which one he lived in, all I read from the diary was it was in Central City."

"Great, there's going to be loads of orphanages there. What if we try and ask Sonic's Uncle, maybe we can get something from him?"

"No use, I already tried seeing him today. But he's not answering" Tails sighed. He moved ahead and led Knuckles through his house and up to his room. His parents were out for the evening believing Knuckles was babysitting for the night. They hadn't a clue what was really going on.

"Well I guess we could always search online right? The care takers called Nack so maybe something will come up."

Tails threw himself down on his bed, opening up his laptop and getting to work.

Knuckles walked over to the window, looking out into the sky as the sun started to settle for the evening. In the distance he could see the Central City lights. It was strange. They always illuminated in the distance, almost reachable but with no one trying. The most cereal thing was though was Sonic was out there right now. Somewhere in those lights he was doing something, while Knuckles was standing in the nerdy fox's room looking for him. Possibly for the first time since he knew the blue hedgehog, he grew envious of his super speed. A power like that would have been handy right now.

Turning away from the window, Knuckles lulled his head to the side bored, wishing Tails would find something already. But it just so happened he saw something sitting on the chair right next to him.

He rubbed his eyes to see if it was real.

"Tails… Tails!" he cried out, almost backing away.

"What, what is it?" moving away from the laptop, Tails jumped off his bed and rushed to Knuckles side. He didn't need to ask again what the problem was. His eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat.

On the chair was the pair of red and white trainers Tails had loved from the moment he stepped into them, and cried over when they were taken away. Resting on top of them was a small piece of paper, and all it read was.

_I'M SORRY. _

Tails held the note in his hands, checking both sides in hopes there was more, but there wasn't. He grabbed the shoes and looked them over, as if proving to himself they were truly real.

"Sonic was here… Sonic actually came back" Knuckles yelled at, suddenly pacing the floor as he struggled to handle the situation. Tails watched him, the smallest of smiles forming along his mussel, "Maybe he went back to Chucks! We gotta go find him!"

He quickly shed himself of his old shoes and put the new ones one, already his feet felt so much more comfortable in them.

Knuckles grabbed his arm and almost dragged him out the house, "Come on lets go" he urged. Tails never hesitated for a second.

* * *

Chuck never thought he'd hear the end of the knocking. He knew it was that fox boy again, and by rights with everything that happened he should have at least spoken to the child to ask him to leave, but he couldn't face it.

Recently the only company he had were people knocking at his door, and he was growing tired of it. People may have wanted to wish him well but what good would it do now?

Sitting on the sofa, Chuck had stopped watching the clock. The T.V had been on all day and instead of his usual routine he had been glued down and just mindlessly watching anything that came on.

The dog kept crying at the door, pawing against the wood to be let out, but he didn't move. He didn't have the strength too. The inventor hadn't eaten for the past few days, he hadn't moved far at all, not even to carry on with his important work.

There was no denying how ill he had become. Bags stained under his eyes and a depression became too great for him to fight anymore.

And why? What was this all down to?

He missed Sonic. He truly truly missed his nephew… but he wasn't his nephew, he belonged to someone else who didn't want him.

This was the argument Chuck's mind had endured ever since he stepped foot in his home, just after a long journey to Central City where he last saw the blue teenager. He had witness Sonic at his lowest point, begging for forgiveness but he didn't grant it. He couldn't see that frightened boy that Chuck held in his arms the first time he went to the orphanage, after being told his only living relative was there. Seeing that small boy, covered in bruises and cuts, and both his legs swollen and destroyed, he didn't need to be asked. He left with Sonic in arms.

Deep down, he knew something wasn't completely right. He never bothered with a DNA test because he genuinely felt there was no need for one. Why would this young boy lie to him?

Now… he knew the answer.

Sonic was afraid. Afraid of what people would do to him.

Chuck could look back and remember the first day Sonic came home with him, in every finer detail. Nothing was forgotten. The first thing Chuck did when carry the disabled boy through the door was put him down on the sofa. He turned his back to grab the bags and when he returned, Sonic was on the floor, dragging his small body to the window and staring up at him as if he would attack at any moment.

It was after that Chuck hugged him for the very first time, and Sonic hadn't known what a hug was until then. That's why he loved them so much. Even now… then, at fifteen years old, all Sonic would ask him for was a hug.

Chucked rubbed at his temples, the emptiness of the day filling his brain that was so filled with conflict. He missed Sonic, he missed him so much. But the boy lied to him. And not just about being related but about School, all his actions, the way he treated his classmates, how he acted with women. There was so much in that folder that Chuck knew he had only read a small part of it. How could he forgive Sonic when he didn't even know who he actually was? He didn't know the blue teen at all.

But did he really deserve to be sent back to the orphanage? The place he had nightmares about?

But then was any of that even true? Chuck knew nothing.

He had tried though. In a moment of weakness he called Nack and asked him how Sonic was. He had even thought that maybe he should visit, just to check up on things. Nack however said that wasn't a good idea, Sonic had grown hateful of his 'Uncle'. Chuck called again only a week after, but Nack informed him it was too late, Sonic had been adopted.

Now he was alone.

Chuck closed his eyes, his powerful mind tired and aching. He knew he wasn't going to move for a while now, there was no energy anymore. There was no reason.

Until he heard the letter box open and something being pushed through.

He sighed again, but more from annoyance.

It took more effort than it should have for him to push himself up and walk towards the door. He swore if it was that fox boy he was going to place a restraining order or something.

But surprisingly there wasn't much there. Just a folded piece of paper resting on the ground.

With a growing curiosity he picked it up, and he read it to himself.

_ Dear Chuck._

_I guess I don't really know how to say this, or what I should even start with. But this is the only thing I'll ever get to say to you now. I'm so sorry. I know I've said this so many times but there's nothing else I can do to make things right. I should never have lied to you. I should have told you the truth from the very beginning. No, I'm not your nephew, and I never knew your brother, but you were still my family. You'll never know how much that meant to me. For the first time in my life you made me feel like I was normal, like I didn't have to be so ashamed of myself for my abnormalities. You took care of me, you gave me an amazing life and I threw it back in your face. I disappointed you and that hurt me more than anything in the world. _

_If I could go back, and change everything I did then I would… but I can't._

_I love you Chuck, I really really love you, and all I have ever done is course you pain. I'm so sorry for everything, the lies, the bullying, the selfishness... I can never make it up to you. _

_But I want to._

_And I think this is the only way how. This is how I can pay my debt for everyone I hurt. I need to go to the one place I really feel safe now, and end this. _

_I can't live anymore, knowing that people have died because of me, I just can't._

_Everyday my heart hurts because I've been too afraid to do the right thing and end it._

_But now, now it's time. I can't put it off any longer. I love you Chuck. And lying to you about being your nephew was the hardest lie I stuck with, because every day I wished I told you you were my dad. You treated me better than any father ever could. I hope one day you could forgive me. _

_I'll die with that hope._

_I love you – Sonic._

Chuck threw the door open and ran outside. His heart beat desperately as he looked around everywhere, spinning in a circle for a sign of anyone. "Sonic!" he cried out desperately, tears falling from his eyes as he ran in the middle of the road.

"SONIC!"

He fell to his hands and knees, his shoulders shaking despairingly while he roared with grief, "What have I done? What have I done?!"

He never saw the young fox and echidna who called out to him before running to his side.

"Mr Hedgehog! What's happened?" Knuckles quickly bent down and helped the man up to his feet. Chuck's mind was everywhere; he gripped onto to the red teens shoulders for support when his legs felt too weak to hold him. He couldn't answer his question though, just held out the paper in his hands.

Tails grabbed it, reading it quickly. His stomach dropped and he looked up at the older hedgehog in horror as he realised what he was reading. Chuck pushed his way from Knuckles, gripping his head in his hands, "It's all my fault! We have to stop him!"

"Stop what? What's going on?" Knuckles cried out. Tails threw the letter at him and he read through.

While doing so Tails rushed to the older man's side, "Sir Charles we'll find him! I swear, he'll be okay" the older hedgehog only nodded, not believing a word of it but forcing himself to calm down.

"Tails we got to go now! Sonic said he'd go to a safe place, where would that be?" he asked Chuck. "I-I don't know… I really don't know.

The fox however was the one to answer, "I know where he is!" he cried. Rushing over to Knuckles he grabbed the echidna's arm and urged him to.

"We'll bring him back, we promise!" Was the last thing Chuck heard before the two ran out of his sight.


	47. The Last Moment

**Okay guys, this has taken me all day to write and I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty emotional. (Well I think so)**

**The same warning about death applies to this chapter as in the last chapter.**

**And I would just like to say... There's only one more chapter to go now. And that's actually making me more sad then anything else :'(**

**I really hope I've done justice to everyone who loyally supported this story. This is the near end.**

**Please leave a review and let me know if I failed or not.**

**Till the next, and last time.**

* * *

They didn't know how much time they had. They didn't know how long it would have taken to reach the fastest thing alive, but they ran knowing they had to try.

Tails was the one taking the lead, running past his house and going same place new; a garage at someone else's home. "Tails what are you doing?" Knuckles cried out, stopping as the young fox let himself in through the gates.

"It's okay, this is where my grandparents live. They let me use the garage for my latest project."

Knuckles grew impatient, "We don't have time! We have to find Sonic now before it's too late!"

"I know that but it's gonna take three hours to get there, this is the only way we'll get there in time" Tails rushed to the door and quickly unlocked it. He lifted the door up and Knuckles ran to his side.

The echidna's eyes widened in amazement at what he saw inside, "Is that…"

"Yes. And thanks to some of the data I collected from Sonic, it's finally finished" the child explained, looking up at the older guy. Knuckles looked boy, a twist in his stomach formed as the reality of everything suddenly dropped. Tails had never intended to hurt Sonic, yet they all acted like he did. There was so much the echidna needed to say, but he shook the feelings away, and darted inside the garage, "We got to move, now!"

Tails agreed, following after. "Hang on Sonic, we're coming!"

* * *

Darkness had completely settled on night. The earth made no sounds but he was drowned by the screams in his mind, tearing him apart. From the very top of the cliff he looked down. The sea crashed violently against the rocks below, threating to sweep anything away that came near it.

The wind slashed at his face, bitter coldness intensified how numb he felt.

Sonic stared down at the water. It was twenty feet below where he stood, his toes standing over the very tip of the cliff, threating to fall from the edge. In his hand he held the same knife he used before, in his attempted murder of a woman he already killed.

Sonic didn't scream. He didn't make a sound. But he wept, tears raining from his eyes that reflected the waves below. All he could see when he looked down was images of his father. The man he never knew but gave his life for him. He saw a blue hedgehog downing and fight for his life against the tides.

"… d-daddy…" his weakened voice trembled from within, his eyes never leaving the man in the river. But the body soon died, sinking down deeper and deeper until it could never be seen again. It its place was the girl. The girl he killed.

He watched her fight for her life, only to meet the same fate as the man before her.

Sonic watched her die in the sea right before his eyes.

He closed his tired eyes, hollering despairingly as he knew there was nothing that could change it. Their blood was on his hands. But it wasn't just them. It wasn't just blood he was guilty for.

Looking up to the sky he stared at the stars above him. He stared at how they all shone, twinkling brightly, like they were giving off hope. But not for him, for all the people he hurt. Hope for Cream, that she never remember him. Hope for Sally and Amy, that they find true love and learn how special they both are. Hope for Knuckles… to forgive him. And Tails… to understand how much of an amazing friend he was.

And Chuck… his Uncle Chuck… "I-I hope you k-know I'm sorry."

He inhaled deeply, taking a long, final breath. With an unsteady hand, Sonic raised the knife that glistened against the moon. He wept. He could do nothing else.

So as Sonic placed the blade along his throat, his tears were the only thing to fall against it as he cried out for forgiveness. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry! Please! Please forgive me! I'm so sorry…"

The sea crashed against the rocks below, and he stared down.

It was his turn to suffer now. Justice was to be paid.

He closed his eyes… 3…2…1.

* * *

Knuckles was in awe. His large hands gripped against the sides of his chair as he stared around, watching as the breath taking sights passed around him. He had never been among the clouds before and now he felt as if he could touch them. His purple eyes rested on the young fox sitting in front of him, his mind finally opened for the first time.

The eight year old fox he belittled, insulted, mocked constantly… was a freaking genius.

"I can't believe… you _built_ your own plane!" he deadpanned for the fourth time, never taking his eyes away.

Tails was too busy though. He checked all his controls and all the operating systems and so far everything had worked. Now he navigated, making sure he was going the right way. He had checked the flight map a million times before, read every book about piloting and watched every online video on doing it right. This was the first time he had done a test flight and yet he never focused on any of it.

All he cared about was getting there on time. "Knuckles focus! Keep a look out, I think we're nearly there."

"Tails we've only been in flight for twenty minutes or so, are you sure Sonic's gonna be there?"

"Trust me, he'll be there! It's the only place he ever felt safe" they yelled at each other, the sound of the engine being too powerful for them to hear.

Dropping lower so they were under the clouds, Tails eyes beamed brightly when he saw the familiar sight of the railway platform. "There it is! We made it!" he cheered loudly.

Knuckles leaned himself forward, almost pushing the fox to the side. "We're here?"

"Look, look! There's the abandoned house Sonic said I could do my experiments in!" the child pointed to the run down house that rested safely on the highest cliff. Even from the distance it was clear to see and easy to recognised.

But Knuckles didn't see the house, he saw what stood opposite from it at the very edge above the drop to water. "THERE HE IS!" he cried out, pointing frantically. Tails gasped, now seeing what the echidna saw.

It _was_ Sonic. He was right! Sonic came here!

"We gotta get down there now!" Knuckles cried, growing more and more agitated as he watched fearfully. Sonic started to raise his hand and he was holding something deadly.

But when Tails saw it also, he started to panic, and he couldn't remember how to land the plane. "I-I don't know what to do! Knuckles! I-I can't remember, I can't think!" he cried, feeling how pressured this moment was and how desperately he needed to get down.

With a sharp cry, Knuckles did everything not to smack him. "How could you forget you idiot!? Just fly over the top!"

Without an argument Tails carried on flying but swerved the plane so it went over the cliff. Maybe they could get Sonic's attention? Maybe he'd then wait? Maybe… Maybe…

None of that was what Knuckles had planned. The echidna took off his seat belt and with no warning he waiting for the plane to have dropped at its lowest point, which still wasn't near the ground at all, and jumped.

"Knuckles? Knuckles!" Tails watched the echidna fall through the air, and did everything not to steer the plane directly towards him. But to his own amazement, Knuckles didn't fall, he glided.

The older teen opened his arms and with his dreads he rode against the wind and used it to break his impact to the ground. He landed safely on his feet with no harm whatsoever.

But he didn't stop to gloat, or be impressed by his own courage. He looked straight ahead, where a blue hedgehog spun around and stared at him with painfully terrified eyes.

"K-Knuckles…" Sonic breathed out, the blade lowering from his neck for a moment.

The echidna locked eyes with his, a silent moment passing between. "Sonic…" he started to breath, as if it was only now he was realising the truth, realising what the hedgehog wanted to do, "Sonic come here" he held out his hands, ushering his friend to him.

Sonic's breath dropped in his chest, his hand gripping his heart as he curled in on himself, looking at the echidna like he was threatening him, and he didn't know why.

"Sonic, please. Come on bro we can talk about this. We don't need to be crazy."

He shouldn't have said that. Sonic snapped his head to him, his eyes narrowing to a hateful glare and his teeth clenching sharply. Wildly he shook his head, "No… no… I'm not crazy… I'm not… You don't understand! You don't have any idea what I've been through! You can't help me so just leave me alone!" he cried lowly, feeling like he was about to be thrown about and beaten.

Knuckles stepped closer towards him, his hands still reached out as he tried to get as close as possible. But Sonic didn't look stable. He looked like he would snap at any moment and with the knife in his hand…

"Sonic…" he paused, taking in his friend's appearance. For the first time he finally saw what the younger teen had been hiding. All the scars that covered his weakened frame, the burns on his chest, the cuts on his arms, Knuckles finally saw them all. The blue hedgehog wasn't wearing that purple hoodie this time. He showed the deformity he had become.

And Sonic knew he could see it. He wrapped his arms around his small body and he cried out, feeling so disgusted at who he had become. At whom he was.

This time Knuckles looked at him, and sadness laced in his eyes as he saw Sonic truly for the first time. His old best friend, who was too cool for anything… now dying…

"What do you want from me Knuckles… why are you here?" Sonic breathed miserably as he shook from the very spot he stood.

"I can't let you do this Sonic. You got to stop, please!"

A soft whine flew from the hedgehog's lips as he turned away. He hiccupped loudly, unable to control the loud sobs that he cried. He started to hold the knife tightly in both his hands.

Knuckles felt his own hands tremble as he wasn't sure he could do this. "Sonic, listen to me. I know what happened with Mrs. Winters, I know she set you up okay, I know you never attacked her. We can prove it, we'll go to the police and get this whole thing straightened out" he promised.

But Sonic couldn't listen to it. He gripped his hands over his ears and cried despairingly, "No! No you can't do that!" he bawled. But Knuckles didn't understand, "Yes we can, I promise, she'll get what she deserves."

He didn't understand why, but Sonic sunk even lower, cowering frantically in a state of self-loathing.

"Sonic?"

"I'm sorry! Knuckles I'm so sorry… please forgive me" he raised the knife back to his throat and turned towards the sea.

"NO!" Knuckles lunged forward. He grabbed Sonic from behind and grabbed his hand away from his neck.

Sonic cried out fearfully, pulling away and trying to force himself free from Knuckle's solid hold on him. The echidna crushed his arm and shook him around desperately. He didn't even realise at first but the knife was forced out of his hand and with a strong force Knuckles threw it down into the water. Then he let Sonic go.

The blue teen stared at him horrified, taking away his only weapon. With one final desperate act Sonic dashed to the edge of the cliff, and with no thought he jumped from the edge.

But his feet never got to leave the ground as two strong arms wrapped around his stomach and pulled him back to ground, throwing him forcefully to his back. Knuckles pinned both his wrists down next to his head, sitting on his stomach and trapping his legs with his own.

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!" He screamed into the frail boys face, his teeth bared angrily in un-doubtful rage. Sonic wept loudly, now afraid to open his eyes and see him. Knuckles's grip on his wrists tightened and he didn't know how to stop. "What the hell is wrong with you!? What is death going to do? Make everything better? Is that what you think?! Is it?!" he spat.

Sonic struggled underneath him, frantically trying to push him away. But there was no strength left in him now. And Knuckles was too forcefully for him to even try.

"You think this is the only way to solve your problems? By hurting everyone who cares about you? How could you be so selfish?!"

"No one cares about me!" Sonic cried loudly, sobbing loudly.

Knuckles started to seethe through his teeth, "Look at me" he ordered, but Sonic refused. "Look at me!"

Sonic flinched with a yelp of fear, feeling Knuckles breath burn against his skin. Finally he turned and opened his eyes, looking up to the one who held him down. Knuckles stared him right in the eye, and for the first time since Sonic had known him, tears were stinging at the brim.

"I care about you" he spoke forcefully, making his words clear and sharp for the other to understand. "I have always looked out for you, and I got your back. You _knew_ this! You _knew_ I cared about you Sonic. How could you say I didn't?"

"Knuckles…" he breathed sharply, his throat too dry and his voice too broken, "I-I have to die… I-I killed people… Knuckles… They're dead because of me!"

The echidna slowly shook his head, "What are you talking about?"

Sonic bit down on his lip, his reddened face turning away as he screwed his eyes shut, unable to handle his own pain. "M-my father… he died because of me. And not j-just him but Honey too. She's dead Knuckles… She's dead! I killed her!" he wept.

The echidna was silent, his eyes slowly widening in realisation. All he could feel was guilt, knowing that it was his own selfishness that had led to this. He released his hold on Sonic's wrists and instead cupped his face, forcing him to face upwards. "Sonic listen to me."

"No."

"Yes. Listen to me. You weren't responsible for killing her. It wasn't your fault" he pushed, but Sonic didn't listen to any of it.

"She died because of me! I went too far, I bullied her and ruined her life! She's dead and it's all my fault!"

"No! It was my fault."

Sonic stopped fighting, his hands that had gripped onto Knuckles to pull them away froze as he stared up to the echidna, not understanding what he had just said.

Knuckles sighed deeply, dreading the ugly truth that came next. "I threatened her, I never meant for it to go that far but… it scared her. When I found out I said nothing and… let you take the blame."

He waited for a reaction, he was almost too afraid to look down and face him, but, Sonic did nothing. His dull emerald eyes blinked as the hedgehog resembled a blank canvass, contemplating everything Knuckles had said, until all he could hear was the deep gulp from Sonic's throat as he possibly swallowed his feelings down. "Y-you… let me… take the blame?" he repeated shakenly, sounding like he had been betrayed.

"I'm sorry, Sonic I never thought it would have led to this! If I did I would have told you. But… yes. I let you down."

All he could feel was the rise and fall of the hedgehog's chest, watching and waiting for what would happen next.

The hedgehog breathed lowly, his fists starting to shake angrily, "You… You let me think… I killed her. You son of bitch" he choked out, unable to contain so many emotions at once. Worriedly Knuckles tried to calm him down, "No I didn't mean to. I knew you didn't know, I didn't think it would ever come back like this. Sonic I swear I if you had found out sooner I would have told you."

The hold he had on Sonic's face was released and he placed his hands back on to Sonic's wrist, stopping him before he could attempt anything, whether an attack or self-harm. The hedgehog was so distressed he hadn't even noticed, "What the hell else have you been lying to me about? Is there anything else I've been taking the blame for? Who else have you hurt and blamed on me?!"

"No one! Sonic I messed up, and I'm sorry. I should have told you, I have no excuses anymore. Just calm down… please" he knew he should have told him about Rouge, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He was angry, Sonic again felt that feeling of betrayal and again by the one person he thought he could trust. It always happened, again and again and again. How much longer could he deal with it? Anger was slowly passing aside, and now he was burdened with his guilt, "What does it matter… I still killed my dad. My family is broken because of me."

This time Knuckles felt unsure, not feeling he could be much use with his lack of knowledge on what happened. But he still tried, "How did you kill him?"

The question was hard, and answering seemed harder, Sonic trembled and welled up, "H-he saved me from drowning… a-and he died."

Knuckles only sighed, shaking his head slowly, "How is that your fault? Sonic, don't you see it? You're not thinking straight. He was you _father, _of course he gave his life for you. Do you think his death means anything if you take your own life? It's not gonna bring him back. It's not going to change anything."

While the words were spoken harshly, it finally looked like he was getting through to him. Sonic swallowed hard, sniffing back the rest of his tears while his tired eyes mulled over everything that was said. It hit him harder than anything had before, and he genuinely didn't know how to feel about it. He felt guilt, confusion, anger, despair, all at once and it burned away at his heart.

Carefully Knuckles let him go. He pushed himself up from Sonic's small body and sat by his side. After he reached out and made the hedgehog sit up, being sure he was sat as close as possible while keeping a firm hold around his shoulders, just in case.

Sonic slowly nodded, staring at the distance with an endless stare, feeling numb inside. He finally accepted what Knuckles said, for once listening and taking in every word. But so many problems started to surface in his mind, so many arguments as he thought about his errors.

"W-what… about everyone else? Everyone I hurt… how do I face that? How can I fix it?" the boy asked, looking at Knuckles for an answer.

The echidna answered, "With help. Believe it or not, but not everything was completely your fault. I mean we all were to blame at one point or other. But if you really regret it, and you feel sorry then all you can do is accept that and move on. No not everyone will forgive you but some people will."

Sonic looked down, drawing his hands to his face "No… they won't. How could they? I'm a monster!"

"I forgave you."

Lowering his hands, Sonic quickly turned around. His heart started beating strenuously as he laid eyes on the small yellow fox that stood behind him.

"Tails!" he gasped, turning his whole body around. It wasn't long until the small fox fell down, throwing his body down into Sonic's arms and holding him as tight as he could. Tears fell from both their eyes as Tails buried his face into Sonic's neck, not realising how desperate he was to see him again until now, after seeing everything he had been through.

"Tails I'm so sorry! I went too far, I treated you like such a tool."

"No I'm sorry. I should never have taken the diary and told those secrets. You were right to be mad at me. I acted like a tool, I deserved it."

"Don't be so stupid! You didn't do anything wrong."

They both pulled away, for once Sonic felt that distant feeling of a smile tug at the side of his lips as he gazed at the child, not realising how much that simple apology would have affected him until now and how little more needed to be said.

He glanced over at Knuckles who watched the whole thing with a smile of his own. It was then Sonic started to look back and forth between the two and he started to make the unlikely connection. "Wait, w-when did you two start hanging out together?" he asked, his voice still unclear from before.

They exchanged a look but before Tails could speak Knuckles cut him off, "We've been in a truce for a while now, just so we could find you and make sure everything was alright. Apparently it wasn't but no one said we were good at this. Besides… the kid's not so bad" he finally admitted before reaching out and ruffling the foxes head playfully.

Sonic found himself nearly baffled, rubbing his eyes from habit as he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, only this time it was different, it didn't feel negative. "You guys… were looking for me?"

"Of course. We were worried" Tails answered.

"That's it? There was nothing you needed? Nothing you wanted me to tell you… just worried?"

Knuckled looked over to Tails and then shrugged his shoulders, "We realised you were set up, and didn't think it was fare you got punished for it. We wanted to find you and clear your name."

"Oh" Sonic looked down, so many new emotions filling in his chest and he wasn't even sure what to call them. His friends… cared about him.

Tails reached from behind and pulled out a USB stick, "But now that you're here we can do that. I got all the evidence we need to put Mrs. Winters behind bars for life. I downloaded all the footage of everything she did to you Sonic" he said it like it was good news, but the hedgehog shook his head fearfully.

"No, no I don't want to do that" he exclaimed.

Instantly Knuckles picked up on the panic in his voice, and he reached out to hold his arm reassuringly, "Sonic it's fine, she can't hurt you anymore."

"No it's not that. It's just… she thought I…"

"She thought you were responsible for Honey" Knuckles finished, understanding why he was getting upset again. Sonic looked up at him with confusion, "You knew?"

"There were a few rumours. I mean she denied it, because let's face it who wants to be related to WinterBreath, but yeah, I kinda knew" he admitted.

"That's not funny Knuckles. She lost her daughter and it's my… I mean… I just don't want to report her. It's not right" he didn't want to fight, and it was easy to see it.

But Knuckles didn't agree though, and he knew he had to make his point clear "Sonic she tortured you, that's not something you take lightly. I mean the things she did were psychotic! She could have killed you several times. She even framed you for attacking her. She doesn't need sympathy she needs help. I get that she lost her daughter, and it's enough to destroy anyone but… not like that Sonic. Not that far. She needs to be reported, if that's how she takes revenge then what does she do to other people. What will she do to other people?"

It was a hard decision to make, and it was one Sonic didn't want to face. He kept looking at the USB Tails held in his hands, his mind racking at what he should do. But he made up his mind, and he took the stick from Tails hand and handed it to Knuckles, "It's up to you Knucks. Your choice" he stated, knowing that for once that wasn't his moral battle to deal with anymore. The red teen took the device with a small nod, putting it away and leaving it at that.

The sound of water crashed up against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff, and Sonic felt himself drawn back to the sound. He breathed deeply, watching the stars settle across the sky. There was so much he would have to face. He wasn't convinced if he still could.

"Sonic?"

He looked back to the small fox who gazed at him with big worried eyes. "Are you gonna come home?"

His lips started to tremble, and for the first time in a while, he showed the smile he always wore to hide his fears and worries, "I-I don't know… I don't think I have a home."

Breaking the tension, Knuckles stood up from the ground, "Well before you make any choices, I think there's someone you should go see."

* * *

Chuck couldn't bring himself to do anything at this point. He sat on the sofa once again with his head in his hands. He was so worried that he trembled with every minute that passed.

How could he have let this happen? How could he have been so blind?

The T.V had been left on, and the moment he rushed back into his house after the boys had left he picked up the phone to call the orphanage, wanting information if the family that took Sonic knew if he was missing.

But then he saw it on the news. The phone had dropped from his hands and he fell to the sofa with horror. Nack's picture was up for the world to see. Arrested for child abuse in his own orphanage.

Chuck had never cried so much in his life. He had failed his boy. For once Sonic swore he was telling the truth about that place he refused to believe him. He sent him back! How could he do that to his own nephew… his adopted nephew... but his own nonetheless.

He prayed every moment that they would make it in time. He didn't know how much longer he could wait. He just wanted to see him again. He just wanted him safe.

There was a knock at the door.

Though afraid at first, Chuck didn't ignore it this time. He rushed to his feet and ran.

He threw the door open…

Sonic stood in front of him, his arms wrapped tightly around his own body as tears flowed from his eyes. "C-Chuck I…"

He couldn't say anything more. The older man scooped him up in his arms and held him as close to his heart as he could.

Sonic wept against the light blue fur, taking in all the warmth of his Uncle that he had missed for so long. The older, trembling hands that affectionately crushed him to his body made him feel safe for the first time again. He could feel his breath, breathing harshly against his forehead as the man pressed his lips against him.

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach, and Sonic felt the feeling he hadn't experienced since this whole journey started; he felt loved.

"Chuck I'm so sorry. I should never have lied to you. I'm sorry" he cried. His Uncle shook his head, "Don't be. I wouldn't have it any other way."


	48. Blank (Ignore)

**Continue on to the next chapter**

**Will explain there**

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	49. The Ending Moment

**Okay, so big moment now.**

**I am of course back finally and I have written what I think is a much better ending. It was when a friend of mine said that this was a great story with a bad ending I was like Oh Heellllllll noooo. So I had to change it, lets face it. **

**But now (hopefully) here's a better ending and every lose end is tide up!**

**Right, I don't want to go on and on because I did that last time. But seriously, thank you guys for all the support this story has recieved, and thank you so much for being honest about the ending. I said it myself, I wasn't happy with it but if you had said nothing I wouldn't have re-written. So there we go.**

**With the chapter/review thingy, obviously you guys have reviewed chapter 48 and if you're sighed in you can't review again. Just cus I don't want to make things awkward for people I will be uploading a blank 48 chapter and this will be chapter 49, so then people can review with ease and after a week or so I will remove the 48 chapter, you get the idea :)**

**Also if you do leave a review I would really appreciate if it wasn't just to compare it with the first ending I wrote. I actually cringe when I think back at how bad it was so trust me, I'm already aware of how much it sucked lol. **

**This is a fresh ending, last one never happend hehe..he.. ^_^'**

**I have tried to involve everything that people wanted to see, this is litrally nothing like the last chapter. And I swear if this ending is bad too I will litrally cry myself to sleep and give up on life. I actually put effort into this one!  
**

**I love you all, couldn't have asked for better followers, and I am so sorry for what happened, I will never be spontanious again.**

**Please enjoy the final Chapter of the Loss You Gained D:**

* * *

The black tabby cat closed the door behind her as she walked out of her house. She pulled out her keys and locked up before she stepped down off her porch and walked to her car. Just as she grabbed the handle and opened to let herself in, she was frightened by a force that slammed the door shut instead.

With a sharp gasp she spun around, and laid eyes on three police officers, one of which held his hand against the car door, blocking her from leaving.

"Mary Winters I assume" he asked flatly, removing his sun glasses.

"Yes, that's me. Look I'm in a hurry, can I help you in anyway?" she asked, straightening out her skit and making herself formal and presentable. Only her eyes quickly widened and she nearly fell back on her car when she saw the man reach to his belt for his hand cuffs.

"Mrs. Winters you are under arrest for Child Assault, you have the right…" he reached out to take her hands, but the woman pulled them away and took several steps back. The two other police officers quickly rushed to stand behind her.

"Arrested!? For what?! How dare you accuse me of something so vulgar, I'll have you know I am a respectable teacher, my students are my only priorities and I would never lay a finger on any of them!" she stated angrily, crossing her arms and standing her ground against them. She felt a heavy hand rest on her shoulder to try and move her, but with a quick shrug the hand fell away.

"Oh really? Well how about we take you to the station and show you all the lovely footage we've acquired of you beating, bonding and even burning a fifteen year old? Then you can tell us about how you'd never hurt a student."

Mrs. Winters froze where she stood, her jaw opened wide as listened to what the officer said, for once her heart being the one to skip manically. "But… but there was no footage… he swore he'd destroy it" she whispered lowly.

The officer nodded his head to his co-workers and with the signal they quickly grabbed her arms and placed the cuffs on her wrists.

When the tabby cat realised what they were doing, she tried to make a break for it, darting to the side quickly in a shameful attempt to get away. But she couldn't even move one step before they had her in hold and pushed her towards the police car.

"Unhand me this moment! I'm innocent! This was all a set up! It was all Robotnik, he's the one to blame for all this! He set me up!" she screamed out, before they opened the car door and placed her inside. "Yeah we'll you can tell us all about that at the station. Mary Winters, You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Take her away" he finished by hitting the top of the car two times to signal they were clear to go.

* * *

Knuckles made his way past the School gates, keeping his head down and minding his own business. He was walking to the School yard. There was some time until first class actually started, so he went to meet up with his friends. Only the moment he was in view to anyone in the public eye, he felt unnerved. He didn't know if he was imagining it or not but he felt like every student was watching him. They all gave him a quick glance before turning away when he noticed. When he passed along small groups he could hear them go from their usual conversations to a sudden wave of whispers and secrecy. Several times he heard his name among these whispers also and he didn't understand why.

As he walked up to his friends, he started to realise something else. Something that made a nervous chill run through his spine. The more he walked closer to people, the more they would walk away.

It was like they were purposely trying to avoid him and he didn't know why.

When he last came into School he was the big hot shot, but now people acted like they were afraid of him.

Shaking his head, Knuckles told himself he was being ridiculous. He carried on as normal and tried to ignore everyone that treated him strangely.

"Hey guys!" he greeted with a grin, approaching the small circle of teens that, just as he did every day. But normally, every day, they would great him back. Give him a high five and talk about the latest game last night but… this time they didn't. They had been deep in conversation and it looked serious. Apparently his greeting had been a disturbance.

Knuckles stared widely, his brow raised high as he watched their heads slowly turn to him, looking at him like he was a complete stranger trying to invade their circle.

"Guys? Okay what's going on?" he snapped, feeling his temperature boil up. Silently the group looked at each other, not one of them saying a word.

This only made Knuckles agitated, "Silver? What's happened?" he asked the white hedgehog, knowing that normally he could rely on him to be honest. But Silver looked down, now seeming more sad than anything else. Blaze stood by his side, moving closer to take a hold of his hand before she deepened her glare at the echidna.

Finally it was Jet who moved forward, standing level with the red teen almost challengingly and crossing his arms. Behind him Mina and Bunny kept close together, Espio and Wave beside them, all just watching while knowing the outcome of this moment was unpredictable.

But Jet showed no control, not wanting to hold back, "You got some nerve Red" he stated.

Knuckles rolled his eyes arrogantly, "Oh come you guys can't be still mad about that fight right? It was ages ago, I thought we moved on from it."

Jet felt a small twitch in his eye, the bruise that covered it was only almost gone. He shook his head disapprovingly, "Hear the news?" he spat bitterly, "Mrs. Winters got arrested."

Knuckles blinked a moment, not fully understanding why they were so angry, "Um yeah I know, duh. I turned her in remember."

"Right, right, of course, because you're such an amazing _hero_ and everything!" Jet replied sarcastically, the others agreeing.

"I don't get it, you heard what she did right?" he argued, his mind feeling heavy as he struggled to comprehend their behaviour.

Jet opened his mouth to speak, but Mina stepped forward and took over, "Oh we heard, we know the whole story. Sonic was beaten by her. He was abused! Everything we ever accused him of was a lie! He never tried to sleep with her, he never took those photo's, he _never_ tried to hang himself… it was all just one big lie and the poor guy had no one to help him. Everyone kicked him down when he needed us!"

Jet was quick to agree, "I mean I said it, I said all along that something wasn't right! He was acting weird, but did anyone listen to me?"

With a sudden groan Knuckles balled up his fists threateningly, "Are you kidding me? You guys made things worse! But now you've decided you're gonna pin all the blame on me now huh? You forgetting that I'm the one who actually saved Sonic after he left, while you guys just couldn't be bothered! Why am I getting the bad guy now?"

"Clearly you haven't seen the news today, did you?" Silver spoke up, for the first time his voice sounding harsh and serious. He reached into his bag and he pulled out a newspaper he brought in especially, throwing it to the echidna who barely just caught it.

With confusion Knuckles held it up. The first thing he noticed was Mrs. Winters name written in the headline, underneath was a picture of her in Court. There was a story underneath, giving all the details about her recent arrest. He quickly read through, his eyes skimming over until he spotted a couple of names that stood out to him.

His stomach dropped, and he felt cold sweat run from his forehead. With widened purple eyes he looked up to the impatient group, taking in all their intolerable scowls. The echidna took a deep breath, lowering the paper in his hands. "It says… Honey… was her daughter. And Sonic caused her death."

He watched each of them, weighing in their reactions and trying to judge how much they already knew. His eyes trailed to Mina, where he saw the smallest of tears build up in her eyes.

"I… thought she moved School's."

"Cut it out!" Silver yelled, becoming aggressive, "You knew she had died. You were one of the only people who knew before now. Sonic always said she moved Schools and we didn't have any reason to doubt that. But this?" he snatched the paper from his hands and instantly Knuckles got defensive, "Whoa wait no, what does this have to do with me?"

"You're the one who killed her!" Mina shouted, stepping closer as her emotions took over her better judgment. "Honey killed herself over what you said to her and you let Sonic take the blame, didn't you? _Didn't you_?"

Knuckles felt himself stumble back, his stomach dropping further as he felt a weird, unrecognisable pain stabbing in his chest. There was so much blocking his brain that he didn't know how to react. Words were refusing to form together to guide him on what to say.

"Because of you being such a coward Mrs. Winters attacked Sonic. She could have killed him Knuckles!" Silver added.

"But… b-but… How did you know?"

"What does it matter?" Blaze walked up to Mina's side and placed a hand on her shoulder in an act of comfort. "Do you not see the consequence of _your_ actions? Did you go the police? Did you correct their mistake, or have you just decided to carry on letting Sonic take the blame?"

The echidna felt himself tremble under the accusations and he slowly crossed his arms over his chest fearfully, "N-no… b-but I mean, I just thought that… after what Sonic went through… they wouldn't…"

The purple cat shook her head, her eyes burning as he became lower than the low to her. "You are disgusting! You're nothing but a cowered that can't even face his own problems without dragging someone else in the dirt with him! Because of your selfishness Honey is dead! And Sonic nearly was too. Don't you see it? Or are you too stupid to realise that? Does your conscious have no guilt whatsoever?"

"Of course I have guilt! I went back and saved Sonic didn't I? How can you guys stand there and judge me?! After all you put him through too! But it doesn't matter, just so long as you got one person to blame it all on you can go about thinking you're all innocent in this can't ya? Don't forget it was you guys who told him to get lost after he attacked Tails, but hey we can all just forget about that now right? RIGHT?" Knuckles yelled, forcing his sarcasm as he indulged in his anger.

The members of the small group each looked at each other, making their final decision. "We weren't perfect, but at least we accept we made a mistake. You need help" with that they walked away, leaving Knuckles to stand alone in the middle of the field.

He slowly looked around, biting on his lip tensely as he realised nearly the whole School had been watching and listening. They were all staring at him… pointing at him… judging him.

He jumped, feeling a soft hand rest on his shoulder.

When he turned he scowled darkly, laying eyes on the last person he wanted to see. "Rouge…"

"My my big boy, things aren't looking so hot right now. What a shame" the white bat smiled seductively. Knuckles slapped her hand away and pushed her back, keeping as much distance as he could. "You told everyone what I did to Honey?!"

She shrugged, "Let's just say, I got revenge on the right guy this time. But consider yourself lucky, you don't have a family that will send you to an orphanage."

With an inward gasp Knuckles watched her rush away, a venomous laugh trailing through the air.

"Wait! WAIT!" He tried to get her back but she was gone. Now, once again, Knuckles was alone. He stared around, feeling like he was in a dark room with the only spot light blazing on him.

Everyone was staring… Everyone was talking. About him? Yes!

Paranoia sunk its sharp teeth into his chest, and suddenly his one, untouchable reputation was now completely destroyed. He had everything, he was popular, much like Sonic, everyone wanted something to do with him. Now though… This new rumour… this ugly truth… everyone already hated him.

He stared to his right. People quickly turned away.

He walked to the left, they all ran!

Knuckles couldn't take it. He felt like a lamp in the lion den!

Was this… how Sonic felt? All this time… was he _this_ afraid?

Unable to handle the darkened gazes and hate filled words, Knuckles ran, growing afraid of the burdening fear that dominated him. He ran away from everyone, needing to be alone. He knew though that it didn't matter what he did now, the damage has been done, and it wasn't going to be over any time soon.

And the School was going to make sure he suffered.

* * *

Later in the day, a hesitant knock sounded at the front door of the large manor house followed by a long pause. Normally there would be a butler who called to answer, but that didn't happen.

Instead a young, brown chipmunk answered the door, wearing a light blue dress and with her red hair tide up nicely. She had obviously been expecting someone as a large smile formed on her face and she was ready to leave the house. But she stopped, taken back by surprise when her eyes didn't lay upon the guest she had expected, but upon the blue hedgehog she had only heard so much about recently.

"Sonic?" she mumbled lightly, pausing in the middle of her doorframe.

The young blue teen kept his arms locked together, his head slanted crookedly while his foot rubbed the back of his leg. He gave her an awkward, wide smile, not knowing how she would take this visit. "Hi Sal… Sally. Umm… surprised to see me?" he asked, trying to hide the nerves in his voice.

"Well yes, truthfully. Didn't think you'd come back" she said, now suddenly sounding a little uncomfortable herself. There was a small pause and she waited for the hedgehog to explain his presence. Unfortunately he felt himself draw a complete blank.

Sonic laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling like too much time had passed and he needed to say something, "Umm… well the reason I'm here is to… say I'm sorry" he admitted, finding himself unable to look in her eyes.

Sally was surprised, and she leaned herself against the door frame, waiting as he carried on.

"Look, about everything that happened a few months ago. I don't know if you heard or not but after you left things went a bit… crazy."

The girl shifted slightly as she looked at him sadly, "Yeah I heard. Mina and Bunny told me about it… But Mrs. Winters got arrested. Was the whole thing made up?"

He breathed deeply, "Yes, she framed me for a lot of… weird things. But anyway that's not… why I'm here. Sally… I was a really big jerk to you. The whole thing with Amy, it was never planned. I never thought of her in that way when we were dating but in the end, when she followed me at that party, I don't know, I guess I wasn't thinking. I was really scared about everything that was going on at the time that when she kissed me, I didn't stop it. I'm really sorry for hurting you, for being a lousy boyfriend."

Sally looked down, a small sympathetic smile forming across her lips as she brushed her arm gently. "I forgive you" she said, looking up again. "In fact, if anything, I'm sorry too" she started to feel the tears sting at the brim of her eyes, "If I'd of known what you were going through… what that Witch was doing! I-I should have been there and…"

"No Sal, come on, it wasn't your fault. I don't blame anyone, there's no way anyone would have known…" he stopped talking as he felt the girl wrap her arms around his neck and hug him tightly, burying her face against his chest.

Sonic wanted to place his arms back around her but, strangely, it didn't feel right. He felt as if any retaliation was unnecessary, so he settled with patting her shoulder instead.

When she pulled away, she kept her hands on his shoulders, her fingers gripping onto his new, red jacket that covered the top of his body, but fitted much better than his purple one.

"You know, I have to admit, I've really missed you" she smiled, her eyes locking with his deeply.

And normally Sonic would have played into it, but this time, when he sated back into the blue shimmering orbs that once captured his heart, he felt nothing. "Really? Even when I was a jerk?" he joked lightly.

Sally laughed confidently, "Surprisingly yes. Hey, do you think that maybe… I don't know, we could go for a drink sometime?"

Sonic felt a small twinge in his chest, suddenly not feeling so well again. He bit down on his lip and frowned, not knowing if he could truly answer that after his big apology. But he knew he couldn't act like a jerk _again, _he had to be honest with her. "The thing is Sally… I'm really not there yet."

He felt horrible inside as he watched the girl pull away and look at him sadly, "I mean, it's not you, definitely not you! It's me. With everything that's happened, my head is still in pieces. I get nightmares every night and whenever I'm alone I get so scared I've actually called for pizza and kept the guy talking until my Uncle came home."

She knew she shouldn't have laughed, but the way he spoke enthusiastically, she couldn't help herself. "You actually did that?"

"Embarrassingly, yes" he smiled, sighing at how little shame he had now days. "So you see, I can't even cope with just myself. I think starting a relationship right now… well it wouldn't be fair to the girl. I don't think I'd be out of the lousy boyfriend zone just yet" he admitted, growing serious once again.

Sally nodded her head in understanding, realising he was being fair with her. "So… when you do get out of 'the lousy boyfriend' zone… will you call me?"

Sonic had hoped she wouldn't ask that. But with his nerves growing on edge, and his hands starting to tremble to the point he placed them inside his pockets to hide them, he answered her honestly. "You deserve a lot better than me Sally, a _lot_ better… and the truth is… I think there's someone else" he cringed, afraid of how she would take the news, worrying he had hurt her again.

But Sally remained silent. Dwelling on what he said, she nodded, eyes drifting as she became unreadable. Finally she answered, offering out her hand and a soft smile. "Thank you for being honest."

Sonic sighed happy, feeling so much relief. He didn't know if she accepted what he said because of what had happened to him and it was out of sympathy or if she suddenly realised what a burden he could have been, but for once he didn't care. He took her hand and shook it lightly.

With a soft hold Sally quickly pulled herself in and planted a small kiss on his cheek, "Good luck with everything" she whispered before taking her hand away.

They exchanged a final goodbye before she walked back into her home and Sonic ran down her driveway.

At the end of the gate a young fox sat on the side of the road, his head in his hands as he waited. "Tails" Sonic called out, walking to the fox's side. Tails looked up, smiled, than rushed to his feet. "How did it go?"

"It was… better than I thought" Sonic admitted, smiling happy at what he could call a successful visit. They both stated walking along the path together as they headed to nowhere in particular.

"It's not been so bad today then. I mean you've visited a lot of people and most of them were really nice to you" Tails commented as they walked.

Sonic's mood seemed to drop though, "Yeah but some of them weren't. I mean I know not everyone was going to be happy to see me, even for an apology, but some of the things they said…"

"But most of them _were_ happy to see you. You got a lot of good responses; people wishing you well, sorry for what happened, had no idea you were the victim of Nack as well…"

"Yeah yeah Tails I get it" Sonic ushered, wanting to stop any talk of Nack before it started. So he quickly moved on, "But still, I feel like I'm not doing enough."

Tails stopped walking for a moment and took Sonic's arm, getting him to look him straight on, "Sonic all you've done since you got back was look for ways to make it up to everyone. The fact that you've spent the whole day going around houses and apologising shows you're willing to be better, and people appreciate that."

"Yeah but what about the people who don't? The ones who told me I should gone through with killing myself" he spat, turning away.

Tails felt his shoulders drop, uncomfortable and unknowing how to respond, "Well… then they're no better then you were. They're not worth caring about Sonic, so don't let them get to you."

The hedgehog merely scoffed, forcing his hands in his pockets and walking off.

Tails quickly ran to catch up. "How did they even know about that anyway?"

"How do you think? Knuckle-head" Sonic simply stated heatedly. Tails stopped in surprise, "Knuckles? Why would he…"

"Why else? He kept telling the whole School about how much of a hero he was."

"Are you still mad at him?"

Sonic groaned slightly, not walking so fast, "I don't know" he whined in frustration. "I mean he did save my life, that's true. But then he turned in Mrs. Winters which I didn't want, he told everyone at School what happened and then suddenly I'm asked in to the police station to talk about my involvement in Honey's death. I can't believe he didn't even tell them! He didn't step up or anything, he just let me take the blame again! I don't know if I can trust him now."

Tails didn't want to completely agree, knowing that most of wasn't his place to judge, even if he was surprised by the selfish actions. "Well we both knew he was a jerk to begin with. But then we've all done stupid things we regret. Maybe he just hasn't learned his lesson yet."

"Yeah maybe, it's a hard call. He's being a backstabber but I feel I still owe him one. I don't know what to do" Sonic confessed. The young fox smiled and nudged his arm, "Just don't worry about it. Just let things pan out, it will work out in the end" he smiled.

"Hopefully… Hey weren't you supposed to be in School today?" Sonic randomly asked, as if it was only now he clicked that today had been a School day and Tails had been with him the entire time.

Bashfully the child looked down, scratching his head with a nervous laughter. "Oh yeah… I may have… not turned in."

Sonic froze a moment, "Tails… you bunked off?"

The fox said nothing.

But the hedgehog couldn't hold back his laughter, "You sly devil, you better not be picking up my old habits!"

"No no… well maybe some of the less mean ones. Besides ever since Mrs. Winters was arrested all the teachers have been weird. And the new Science teacher that replaced her is boring, he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about" Tails complained unhappily, but his mood soon picked up, "Besides, I thought you could use the support for today."

Sonic smiled widely, turning his head away as a small flush formed on his cheeks, "Thanks bud. Would have sucked by myself" he admitted. The young fox only beamed happily, feeling his stunt had been worth it.

"Okay, let's move on. Who's next?" Tails mumbled as he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He ticked off the name Sally that was near the bottom and looked down the list. "Well there are only two more people left to confront."

"Let me see" Sonic looked down, and grimaced, "Nope, pass" he stated before walking faster. Tails laughed and caught up with him. "Come on Sonic, you can't put it off forever."

"I've literally just had to face twenty people who hated me today, can't I do it tomorrow?" he complained, growing sluggish as he tried to make himself unmovable, stopping in his tracks.

Tails pushed against his back and tried to keep him moving. "No because we both know if you don't go now, you'll never go, and then you'll never get closure, and any chance of finishing School would be out the window because you'll be too afraid to come back."

"I don't want to go back to School, I want to stay home. Besides I haven't officially decided if I want to go back to that School yet! There are still other School's to look at, which I can only pray don't have any abusive teaching staff or bigger kids that would try to murder me" he argued, leaning all his weight against the struggling child.

Playfully Tails moved around and grabbed his arms, trying to drag him instead, "Of course you'll come back. You said it yourself, you know the School already so it wouldn't be as frightening as going to a new place where you don't know anyone. Plus no one in School is bad mouthing you anymore and everyone says they miss you. You'll be welcomed with opened arms, and best of all I'll be there! Besides you're the one who said you wanted to face your demons."

"Yeah face my demons, not face _the_ demon! And stop deciding my future for me!"

"You know I'm right."

Sonic groaned loudly, refusing to agree. "Fine, fine, I'll go talk to her. But you better be there with the ambulance pre-dialled just in case."

Tails blinked a couple of times, "Oh my gosh, you don't think you'll end up attacking her do you?" he asked worriedly. Sonic gave him a blank stare, "No I meant for me."

* * *

Sitting along inside the booth at her favourite diner, Rouge sipped lightly as the brought the steamy hot coffee to her lips. She enjoyed the warmth taste before placing it down and returning back to her phone, holding it high to her ear and answering to the ringing music.

"Hello Shadow, what an unexpected pleasure" she charmed, mindlessly stirring her drink with a spoon.

The voice on the other end grunted loudly, not showing much a playful spirit, "_I got word back from the commander_" was all he said, not wasting time on any formalities.

Rouge stopped stirring and held her breath, "Well, is the position available? Don't leave a lady waiting sweetheart."

"_Stop calling me that. And yes, the job is available now. Your brother put in a good word for you, he would have called you himself but he's on a mission_" the voice said that as if it was a bad thing, burdened with the task of delivering the news.

The white bat smiled widely, placing a hand on her heart as she sighed in relief. "That is wonderful. Tell the commander I'll be there tomorrow. I'm sure he wouldn't mind I start early."

"_It's only a trainee position Rouge, it's not exactly an urgent call. And not that I care, but why are you so desperate to get away?_"

She clicked her tongue against her cheek and pressed her lips together, "Oh what can I say… A beautiful girl like me is in high demand in a place like this."

"_Really?_" he didn't believe her.

"Alright, you got me… I've made quite a few enemies over the years. I think now is the perfect time to disappear and try again" her eyes glanced down to the sun glasses she placed down on the table, and felt the brim of the hat on her head. Since everything had come to light, a lot of people had started to put the blame on each other. It wasn't long before they had all come to a mutual conclusion and the blame had been thrown onto her. She only barely got away with her revenge for Knuckles, knowing which students she could talk to without having stones thrown at her again.

"I guess I want a fresh start, much like you."

He grunted again. It was now starting to become a form of punctuation for him, "_I will handle my life on my own. I'll inform the commander of your decision and someone _else_ will contact you._"

With that he hung up, leaving Rouge to look down at her phone disappointedly. But she put it away and finished her drink before leaving the diner.

With her glasses back on, she hastily walked along the road, keeping her head down low in case the wrong person found her.

The street wasn't so busy for an afternoon, but there were still enough people she wanted to avoid. Taking a quick turn around the corner, she was finally left alone. Or she had hoped to be.

It was enough to frighten her when a small, yellow fox jumped out of nowhere and blocked her path.

"Oh my gosh- Kid! What do you think you're doing?" she shouted angrily, quickly composing herself. The twin tailed fox didn't say anything, but a voice behind her did.

"He's stopping you from leaving so we can talk."

She spun around, her eyes glaring in dread the moment she recognised the voice. "Sonic" she spat out, seeing the blue hedgehog standing a mere distance away from her. She weighed him up and down, hoping to read him like a book. He had his arms crossed but he didn't look threatening. Instead he looked almost afraid but trying to hide it.

Rouge smiled, standing up tall and gaining her dignity. She had nothing to worry about.

"Sonic" she repeated before carrying on, "Surprised to see you back."

He felt a small sting in his chest, knowing what this girl was capable of, the manipulation she could deceive with. But it didn't stop him, "Surprised you even realised I was gone. I see you've been busy lately, going on the run?"

That lowered her guard as her smile faltered, but she brushed past it, "I've been thinking of getting away for a while" she laughed. But Sonic was far from amused. He didn't dare walk any closer though, preferring to take a few steps back. "Why, ruined too many lives here to redeem yourself?"

When things went silent, Rouge felt a chill run through her spin. She knew the reason he was here and it wasn't for a fight. Normally she wasn't the kind of person to feel guilt either, but she had never seen him look so afraid before, even though he was hiding. She could see the way his arms were trembling, and hear the hesitation in his voice.

Looking up, she sighed, her Hollywood smile never failing her, "Maybe I have" she shrugged, "I guess I've been playing with the fire for a bit too long."

"Rouge…" he breathed deeply, wanting to be anywhere but here at this very moment. But deep down Sonic knew he needed the answer. "Why did you do it?"

His voice was so cold to her, so empty. It was something she hadn't heard from him before. She looked away, always smiling, always perfect. She slightly shook her head, "Revenge" she admitted, shrugging her shoulders as if it was all one bit joke.

Sonic felt his whole body grow tense. He looked over at Tails who stared right back, mirroring his look of disbelief.

"Revenge? Revenge for what? For 'cheating on you'?" he quoted, "That's what the whole thing about?"

"No, listen…"

"No you listen. You were a _bitch_! You still are just a bitch. The reason I cheated was because you cheated on me" he snapped loudly, feeling almost repressed anger melt its way through for her.

The smile Rouge wore finally stopped, and she was taken back by surprise, "You knew?" she questioned.

"Of course I knew. It was obvious Rouge!" he yelled.

She looked down, feeling numb inside. She swallowed hard, now feeling like her mouth was almost dry. She quickly tried to think of a way out, "Did you know who he was?"

Sonic felt himself become agitated as a frustration took over, "No didn't know! At this point I couldn't care less! It was over a year ago Rouge! Get over yourself. Why would you even wait that long? I don't understand you, I don't understand what goes through your head. You screwed everyone over and you did it as me! Why because your dignity got hurt? Because you couldn't handle someone taking your place?"

"NO!" she snapped harshly, all pretence finally gone. She tried to say more but didn't, almost like someone was telling her not too as she faced away angrily.

It finally clicked in Sonic's head, only now wishing he hadn't of lost his temper so much and thought properly. "You thought I killed Honey, didn't you?" he asked, only he said it as more of a statement.

Rouge sighed loudly, dropping her head like she was embarrassed. Why he didn't know.

"Yes" she admitted, still angered by him.

Sonic watched her as she acted like a child being disciplined, and he himself still feeling the after effects of frustration. "That's why you made the account… turned Amy against me and almost destroyed my life. Because of that…"

She said nothing, only lowering her brow and frowning deeply.

"And now?" he pushed, trying to force a reaction from her. When she said nothing, he felt his temper begin to submerge, "Rouge! What about now?"

"You had it coming regardless" she snapped nastily before pushing her way from Tails and walking right past him.

In a mindless moment Sonic reached out and grabbed her arm, "Rouge wait!" he said, not letting her go.

"Get off me!" she yelled, raising her hand to slap him away. But the moment Sonic saw the opened palm he threw himself to the wall, quickly letting go of her arm before she could strike him.

He trembled fearfully, his whole body quivering as he almost cowered down.

Rouge watched him. He was stopping himself from gripping his quills and before he could break down he was breathing deeply, calming down before he went into a panic attack. She felt a twist in her own stomach, finding it hard to watch.

"Go home Sonic. You're not ready to be normal" she coldly stated, before turning away and leaving him alone.

Watching her go, Sonic slid down the wall and sat on the floor, his arms wrapping around his waist, her words hitting him deep.

Tails was soon by his side, dropping down and holding his arm, "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. He watched the hedgehog's eyes go watery before the older teen brushed them away and tried to laugh it off, "Yeah course… she's just… she really is such a bitch" he tried to joke, but he only sounded bitter as he turned away, not wanting to be seen in such a state.

Tails looked at him with sympathy, even though he knew that wasn't what Sonic wanted. He cautiously rested his chin on the hedgehogs shoulder, giving a small amount of comfort. "We still got You-Know-Who to see. You wanna go?"

"What and shot down like that again? Are you kidding me?" he scoffed, biting on his lip and steadying the hitching of his chest.

The young fox leaned up sadly, but still kept himself close, "You know she wouldn't act like that. I'm sure she really misses you. Besides, Rouge is a completely different person, she's… she's heartless! You know no one has liked her ever since I hacked into that fake account she made and reviled to everyone it was her who made up the rumours, she's gotten nothing but death threats from everyone! Some of the things were worse then what you got."

Sonic turned to the young fox, curiosity filled in his eyes, "Really? So everyone knows it was Rouge, no one's blaming me?"

Tails shook his head, "Nope" and smiled.

"You still deleted the account afterwards though right?"

"Of course" Tails laughed, giving a soft smile, and feeling happy Sonic was calmer now. He brushed his hand along his arm and patted his shoulder in reassuring way. "Don't worry Sonic. I think you're normal."

That did make Sonic laugh as he pushed the kid away, "Please I'm a walking train wreck."

"No you're doing so well. Compared to how you first were I mean" Tails argued, not noticing the raised brow he received for the comment. "You're doing a lot better, these things take time."

Sonic thought about it for a moment, but his tiredness was getting to the better of him. So instead of debating the matter he simply said, "Whatever" before pushing himself up and offering a hand to his younger friend, deciding he was done for the day and just wanting to go home.

* * *

When he arrived back, the first thing Sonic did was kick off his shoes and place them neatly on the side. He heard the sound of a motor saw tearing through metal coming from upstairs, so he followed the noise and walked up to the inventing room.

Carefully opening the door, he briefly smiled as he watched his Uncle hard at work, cutting a slate of metal through the saw until it was the right size.

He stood to the side of the room patiently, allowing the older man to get on until he was finally noticed.

When Chuck turned around, he lifted his safety glasses from his eyes and offered a warming smile. "Sonny, I was expecting you back sooner" he casually said while shutting off all his machine's, deciding to take a break.

Sonic however felt a small rush of panic drill in his stomach, "Was I supposed to be back sooner?" he quickly questioned, feeling worried.

Chuck paused for a moment before raising his hands and chuckling to himself, "Of course not, you're allowed out for as long as you like. The day is still young."

Sonic blushed a little, now feeling foolish as he rubbed his arm, "Sorry" he mumbled. His big emerald eyes followed his Uncle around the room until the man finally finished and sat down in his chair, rubbing the sweat off his brow.

Without being asked Sonic walked up to his side and sat himself down on the floor next to the chair. He rested his head down on the older hedgehog's leg and sighed, finally realising how tired he was after such a long day.

Chuck's hand fell down and brushed along his quills soothingly, just like he used to. "How did today go?" he asked, leaning forward so he could see the boy's face. Sonic simply shrugged though, not giving much away through body language, "It was… 50/50."

"That bad huh?"

Sonic groaned inwardly, hiding his face out of view, "Awful. I had to face everyone I hurt and apologise. I wished the ground had swallowed me up instead!"

Lightly Chuck pushed his lips together, looking at him with sympathy, "Well you said from the start that that's what you wanted to do and you knew it had to be done. Did they at least accept?"

"Most of them did… actually a lot of people were really nice. They asked me how I was doing and said they felt bad for what I went through, so that wasn't too bad. But some of them… Ah Chuck! It was brutal!" he placed his hand over his eyes, remembering the horrible things they said to him that day. "They basically said I got off lightly! I just… I didn't realise how much I hurt people. I-I mean I knew but… the trauma it brought people… I-I'm no better than Shadow…"

The older hedgehog reached down his hand and placed it under Sonic's chin, he lifted his head up so that he could face him properly, making sure he heard every word that was said. "Sonic listen to me when I tell you this okay. Yes. Yes you were horrible. We can't deny that or make it go away no matter how much we would like too, _but… _the fact is that you can see that now. You realise what mistakes you have made and realised why they were wrong, that's what makes you different, not many people could be brave enough to face that. I mean today, you've waited for every student to come home from School and went to their house just to apologise. This morning you went to the people who aren't even in School to apologise, you even went to some of the parents! You're doing everything you can to make it right and I think that deserves a little credit."

Reaching his hand out to take hold of Chuck's, Sonic smiled at the older man with so much appreciation in his eyes. "Thank you" he barely whispered, feeling himself too awful to accept the kind words. He closed his eyes as the older hedgehog leaned down and kissed the top of his forehead, providing comfort only he could give.

"I don't deserve you Chuck" Sonic confessed lowly, placing his head back against the man's leg. He heard Chuck laugh at him, his steady hand reaching down and ruffling his fur, "Don't be ridiculous. If anything I didn't deserve a second chance to have you back."

Sonic looked up, only to see his Uncle smile down at him caringly, "We all make mistakes, no one's perfect so remember that."

"I will" he promised, shaking his Uncle's hand as if it was a deal.

Feeling in a better mood, Sonic stood up from the ground and headed towards the door, "I'm going to make a drink, do you want a coffee?" he called behind.

"Whoa hold it, we're not done yet" Chuck called back, causing the teen to stop in his tracks. The older hedgehog swung his chair around until he was facing his confused nephew, "You said you saw everyone today, did you go see her?"

Nervously Sonic rubbed the back of his neck, "Umm… I was going to but… I'll go tomorrow" he tried to turn around to leave but didn't even manage to reach the door.

"Sonic, you know as well as I do if you don't see her now you'll put it off again and again until it's too late. After what you told me I think she should have been the first one should have seen" Chuck started to lecture, taking a secret enjoyment in the way his nephew blushed and shuffled on his feet. If only his mind could take pictures.

Sonic however wasn't enjoying it as much as he groaned in frustration, "But… what if she doesn't forgive me? The last time I saw her it was so bad, I just shot her down! Or what if she's happy to see me and thinks we're going to get married again?"

Chuck simply grinned, "Well here's an idea, don't propose to someone while you're having a mental break down."

"Yeah thanks, helpful" Sonic replied while rolling his eyes.

With a moment of laughter Chuck pushed himself up from his chair and walked towards the younger hedgehog, playfully pushing him out the door, "Go see her! Dinner will be ready when you're done. Unless I have to come out and pry you two love birds away from each other with a crowbar."

"Chuck! Okay I'm going!"

* * *

Tying the ribbon around her waist, Amy straightened out her white apron until it fitted properly. She headed outside where the sun was just the perfect temperature. Next to the small greenhouse, a variety of flowers covered her garden. There were all sorts, Violets, tulips, sunflowers, Rosemarie's, and her favourite, the rose patch, all the flowers she would tend to.

The pink hedgehog walked along the stoned path, past the pond with a small flow of water from the decorative rocks. She stopped by the apple tree, where underneath an empty patch of soil remained damp from the rain the night before.

She took out her shovel and dug around, preparing it for the seeds she had in her pocket.

Amy wanted to plant Blue bells.

It was one of the few flowers she didn't have in her garden, and, recently, the colour blue had been on her mind.

She had watched it all from her window. She saw that night when that blue hedgehog walked along the road, his head down humbly and his arms crossed over his chest. All from her window she had seen him come along, and she had thought, for just a moment, that he was back to see her again.

She was stupid enough to think he came for her.

Her heart was bitter when she watched him go home. Knocking only for the old man to come out and embrace him in his arms.

She told herself that night not to be so selfish, and made a promise that she would wait. If he truly wanted to see her then he would come.

But he's been home a while now, and he turns his head away from her house every time he leaves the door.

Amy didn't know what to do. She wanted to see him, but he obviously didn't want to see her. She missed him so much, it felt like her heart was on fire. She just wanted to be with him again, to kiss him… and if not at least be there for him without anyone controlling her for their own revenge.

The soil was prepared, and reaching into her pockets Amy picked out the seeds. She planted them carefully, until everyone was in its perfect place. All she would need to do now was wait.

Taking off her gardening gloves, she threw them on the ground. She pushed herself up and turned around to go inside.

But the moment she looked up she gasped, her jade coloured eyes lighting up brightly as her hand rushed to her unsteady chest.

She couldn't believe what she saw.

A single, violet rose, held out to her with an unsteady hand. The handsome, young blue hedgehog that she loved stood there, with a soft, meaningful smile.

"Amy" he spoke, with his voice lacking so much confidence. The sun shone over him, and it's light reflected perfectly in his eyes, reviling how caring and genuine he was looking at her, and only at her. No games, no lies, just him.

The girl couldn't fight away her tears any longer. They fell freely as she trembled, crying loudly to herself. She didn't hesitate, she ran over to him.

Sonic held out his arms and caught her when she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, picking her off the ground and holding her in his arms.

"Oh Sonic… I'm sorry! For everything I did! It was stupid of me, and if I could go back and undo it would! I wasn't thinking properly, I should have never listened to Rouge! I should have left you alone!" she wept into his shoulder, overcome with so much emotion.

For once the blue hedgehog didn't feel overwhelmed. He was braced with so much warmth inside, allowing his hand to reach up and brush her hair, loving the feel of her breath on his skin. "Don't ever leave me alone."

Amy looked up at him, the embrace they shared never parting as she locked her arms together, refusing to break away. For a moment all they could do was look in each other's eyes, finally realising how much they needed to say.

"Amy, I don't know where to begin. There's so much I've done to you and I need to make it right! I just… I don't know how" Sonic confessed shamefully, not knowing if he could say anything that was even good enough.

The girl in his arms only smiled though, her tears flowing like a river, "Just say you're sorry too" she put it so simply for him.

Feeling his own heart race, and his lips tremble, realising how special this girl truly was to him. "I'm so sorry… for everything, I don't…"

He said nothing more. Amy leaned up and placed her lips onto his, filling in the shrinking gap between them.

Sonic moved in, bringing her closer and placing his hand against her cheek. For once their kiss wasn't filled with fear, anger, misery, or desperation. There was no false reason behind it or just a need to provide comfort. For the first time, it was something fired with a feeling neither had believed the other was capable of, or that they hadn't deserved; it was filled with forgiveness, and care.

They both parted, and rested their foreheads against each other.

They understood now, they could spend a lifetime arguing over what happened, blaming each other and spitefully ripping the other apart. But why? What was the point? They cared for each other, even if it was a strange way to see it. They both knew it, that one way or the other, they both came back for each other.

And that was all that really mattered in the end.

* * *

Picking up the small piece of chalk, Mrs. Winters crossed off another day on the wall.

Shadows creeped in through a bared cell, giving little light into her small square of a room. The bed she sat on was hard, like bricks. The orange clothes she was forced to wear were so cold and uncomfortable, had it not been for the clear view all the loud, screaming inmates had of her, she would have contemplated sleeping naked.

She threw the chalk away, throwing her head back against the wall.

_Another day…_

Another day in this forsaken hell hole.

She had no rights, no privileges... all she had was that stupid piece of chalk on the floor and extra time for her to do nothing.

Her lawyer had been useless. A complete waste of money! He claimed he would get her the insanity plea, promising it would be easier when it came to the sentence. It never happened. She was thrown in this cell the moment the Judge heard the words Child Abuse.

And now, what was she to do with her life, other than count the drips of water in her cell? What would she do when she was out in twenty years?

She wouldn't get a job… no man would take her. She was banned from being around children.

She had nothing now.

But, the sad truth… it would have all been worth it, if the hedgehog had killed himself.

If he could have felt the pain that Honey did… this would have been worth it.

She lay down on the cold hard bed. Her eyes closed and she allowed her mind to drift into the darkness.

She never noticed the smoke that filled in her cell.

From outside, the alarms rang loudly. Police officers raced around the buildings to get everyone out as fast as they could.

The night sky burned a blood coloured red as flames ate away at the prison buildings.

No matter how many screams were heard, or how many please of helps cried out; no prisoner was able to escape.

From a safe, and hidden distance, standing next to a small, circular mobile, Robotnik watched it all. A dark, malice grin formed under his moustache.

He felt the heat sting against his face. He smelt the smoke until it burned his lungs.

A soft, yellow light glowed against his face as he held the Chaos Emerald close, watching it glimmer and sparkle against the flames.

Screams filled his ears, and he watched the prisoners run around like mindless rats, fighting desperately for their lives.

Robotnik picked up his speaker, and held it against his lips, "Round up the prisoners. Bring them back to my lair… The roboticizer is ready for some… test rats."

He looked back to the emerald. The only piece missing from his glorious creation.

The creation he was denied too long ago.

But now, with his name sold out by that now dead traitorous bitch… He was left with no more distractions. He would have his final victory.

He would have his moment to destroy the world.

And no one would be able to stop him.


	50. Announcement

Hi everyone. It's been a while since this story finished and I haven't exactly been uploading much either. What have I been doing in all this time? Other then wasting my life away on video games? Well I've been re-writing this story.

That's right, I gave up fanfiction for a while so I could work on turning the loss you gained into an original fic, with my own characters and everything yay.

How far have I gotten?

Ehhh somewhat near chapter 14. Sadly it doesn't seem like that much for the amount of time I've been working on it, but I've had to change so much and do a lot of research to try and make this as "readable" as possible. It's not exactly a story about a blue hedgehog with super speed anymore so you can see why a lot has changed.

Originally I was going to announce this when I was finished, however that's a far long way ahead. The problem as well is motivation. On fanfic it was great because after every chapter you guys would leave positive and helpful reviews and through that I was ready to write the next chapter there and then. Now however I finish one chapter then I leave it for a month.

So what I've decided, as I doubt this will actually get published, is to upload it onto Wattpad. That way, it's open for you guys to read, I can hopefully get feedback to help me improve the story and also it might feel like getting the experience all over again.

I've kept the title the same so anyone who wants to read can just type it into the search and it comes up straight away.

Thank you guys so much, I've had so many people recommend that I do this, so I'm happy I'm finally getting round to it. Any support is appreciate and a well needed kick up the butt to get writing again.

Thank you guys and hopefully some more fics coming your way :)


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